Rahane would have to give a good performance in England: Vijay Bharadwaj

Along with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, the vice-captain of Team India, Ajinkya Rahane would also be on his third full Test tour of England. Rahane has played 10 Tests in England: five tests each in the 2014 and 2018 tours. He had an average of 29.26 while playing those tests, which is a lot below his career Test average of 41.29. In the last 15 Tests, Rahane has scored four fifties and two centuries. His most crucial century was in Melbourne which helped the team win the match. Since then, he has made just one fifty in 11 Tests innings.

Rahane has often stated that he has been hitting the ball according to the team’s requirements. But recently, he has not been able to make enough runs to help the team.

Thereby, Rahane would be under extreme pressure to give a solid performance in England. India would aim to win the first-ever World Test Championship trophy there when they play the final match against New Zealand. The World Test Championship final would be held in Southampton from 18^th June.

Vijay Bharadwaj, who was one of Karnataka’s most prolific batsmen in the 90s and early 2000s, felt that Rahane would be under a lot of pressure in the England tour. Rahane has not been able to give a consistent performance on the field. He has unfortunately failed to live up to the expectations.

Rahane should bat at a faster rate when he is on the field: Vijay Bharadwaj

Bharadwaj also commented on batman’s slow run rate. He opined that Rahane should bat at a faster rate as Cheteshwar Pujara already does a good job of grinding the opposition attack and playtime. There is no need for another batsman to bat slowly. Also according to the ICC rules for the WTC final, if there is a draw them both the teams have to share the trophy. So, the scoring rate has to increase to get a real shot at winning the championship title. Bharadwaj believes Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant would score at a higher rate, and thereby Rahane should also follow them.

Bharadwaj further added that proper preparation for the World Test Championship final would be crucial for the Indian Team. The team would straight away have to get into the playing mold. It is not easy for a batsman to get set so if he does, then he must score a century while he is on the field like Rahul Dravid did. He expressed some doubt about the batting lineup of the Indian side. But he also maintained that the Indian team has the right balance to win the championship title.

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