Ajinkya Rahane’s below-par run since the resumption of the sport has been one of the talking points and with the regulars set to return for the upcoming South Africa tour, there could be a case that the vice-captain might have to sit out of the playing XI.
Rahane did score 268 runs on the Australia tour in 2020/21 but only managed 112 runs against England at home at an average of 18.66. He scored 109 runs in 4 Tests against England in the UK and followed up with a tally of 39 runs in the Kanpur Test against New Zeland, where he was also donning the captain’s hat.
Rahane had the team management’s backing but an injury is keeping him out of the ongoing Mumbai Test match. While he is expected to keep his place for the SA tour, it remains to be seen if he makes his comeback in the final XI or not.
Amid this, veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh has asked for Shreyas Iyer to be given chances ahead of struggling Rahane. Speaking on his Youtube channel, Harbhajan, who scalped 417 Test wickets, said that Iyer could be a perfect solution in the middle-order going ahead.
“Shreyas Iyer batted brilliantly in the last game and showed his talent. And I am so happy that he made the most of the opportunity in the middle order. Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane is not scoring runs. Going forward, Iyer could be India’s perfect solution,” he said.
“Don’t know if Rahane will be a part of the India squad for the South Africa series but Iyer, I feel, has made his case as a middle-order option. It will be interesting when the selection happens.”
Iyer, who made his debut in the Kanpur Test, kicked off his career with a century and a half-century in two innings. Though he struggled in the Mumbai Test and only managed scores of 18 and 14.
Rahane and Iyer are likely to compete for one spot in the opening Test against South Africa. The India tour of the rainbow nation includes 3 Tests and as many ODIs.
Rohit likely to replace Rahane as vice-captain
Meanwhile, a report has suggested that Rahane is likely to lose the vice-captaincy in Test cricket. He had taken over the job before the West Indies tour in 2016.
“The selection meeting will happen in a few days. It is likely that Rohit will be made the vice-captain of the Test team. The Indian team is committed to travel to South Africa. However, the tour will not go on as per schedule. BCCI has communicated to Cricket South Africa (CSA) that it could start the tour with the Boxing Day Test,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by TOI recently.
Rohit is a two-time Test vice-captain and assisted Rahane in the last two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020/21. He leads the national team in T20Is and is Virat Kohli’s deputy in ODIs.
