Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman slammed stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane for his shot selection in the first Test of the two-match series against New Zealand in Kanpur. Laxman questioned Rahane’s shot that led to his dismissal from a Kyle Jamieson delivery in India’s first innings. 

Rahane’s spot in the team has been under the scanner for a while with a run of poor scores in the last year. In India’s last test assignment, Rahane scored just 109 runs in 7 innings against England.

Laxman claimed the shot Rahane tried to play is not a good option on the Kanpur pitch lacking bounce. He suggested that it was the type of stroke that works in overseas countries. 

Talking to Star Sports, Laxman said, “The moment Ajinkya Rahane came into the crease, what did Kyle Jamieson do? He goes to short-pitch deliveries. We know Rahane has only one option against short-pitched deliveries, which is to play the pull shot. It was an instinctive shot that led to his dismissal. It’s okay to play besides the line in places like South Africa and Australia even if there is not much width, because of the bounce, you can hit through the square of the wicket.”

“In Kanpur, you can’t play the ball where there is no bounce at all. You have to play with the full face of the bat, maybe a vertical bat. You can’t play with an angled bat,” he added. 

Rahane was looking comfortable on the crease after making a positive start to his innings. He rushed to a score of 35 before Kyle Jamieson send him back to the dressing room. 

After a decision against him was overturned by the Decision Review System, Rahane tried to cut a delivery from Jamieson on the next ball but caught an inside-edge that bamboozled his stumps. 

With captain Virat Kohli missing, Rahane is leading the Indian team for this match. Kohli will come back to lead the side in the second Test match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.