Ajinkya Rahane has won lots of fans with his astute captaincy in the course of the Indian team’s epic triumph in Australia but he would like to make it extremely clear that the undisputed leader of this side is Virat Kohli and he is satisfied filling in when needed. Come February 5, Rahane will once more be the vice-captain of the Test group against England with Kohli back in the saddle. So will factors be diverse now when he when once more dons the vice captain’s hat? “Nothing changes. Virat was and will always be the captain of the Test team and I am his deputy. When he was absent it was my duty to lead the side and my responsibility to give my best for Team India’s success,” Rahane, who was on his way to Chennai, told PTI in an exclusive interview.
For the vice-captain, it was not about becoming on the hot seat but getting the capacity to execute the function to perfection that mattered the most. “It’s not the matter of merely being a captain. How you perform the captain’s role is what’s more important. So far I have been successful. Hopefully, in future also, I will try to give these kind of results for my team,” stated the man, who has led his nation to 4 wins in 5 Tests.Reflecting on his connection with Kohli, Rahane stated it has generally been smooth. “Me and Virat have always shared a good bonding with each other. He has time and again praised my batting. Both of us played memorable knocks for our team in India and overseas conditions. It only helped that Virat comes at No.4 and myself at No.5. We have had a lot of partnerships,” the 32-year-old stated.Theirs is a connection that has been primarily based on transparency and mutual respect.”We have always backed each other’s game. When we are at the crease, we discuss threadbare about opposition’s bowling. We caution each other whenever one of us plays a rash shot.”And how does he come across Kohli as a captain? “Virat is a sharp captain. He takes good on-field decisions. Whenever the spinners are in operation, he is banking on me and he believes that taking those catches at slips off (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja is one of my core competence areas.”Virat expects a lot from me and I attempt and assure not to let him down,” said Rahane, who is 13 short of a milestone of 100 catches in Test matches as an outfielder.Rahane’s classy hundred in the Melbourne Test, according to head coach Ravi Shastri, was a catalyst for change. Having gone through rough patches in the past few years, does he feel more secure about his place in the Test side now? “Honestly speaking, I never ever ever felt that my spot in the side was ever in danger. The captain and group management generally had faith in me,” said the Mumbaikar, who has 4472 runs in 69 Tests with 12 hundreds at an average of 42.58.Rahane believes in the old adage that form is temporary but class is permanent. “Yes, often in couple of series, a player is off-colour but that does not imply that his class is gone. A player demands only 1 knock to get back to his kind.”When I was going through a bad patch, my captain boosted my morale. It’s always comforting to know that you have his backing and you are then focussed on giving your best without any worries.”People have noticed more of a “leader” in Rahane but he downplayed his function. “With regards to leadership, I can only say that it varies from person to person. A captain is as good as his team. When you win a match or a series, it’s always a collective effort and not because of a singular man’s contribution.”It’s your teammates only, who make you a excellent leader. The total credit of this series win belongs to my group,” concluded the reticent cricketer.
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