'Virat Kohli was and will always be the captain of India Test team': Ajinkya Rahane
After the series win in Australia, questions are going around if Virat Kohli should be replaced by Ajinkya Rahane as India's Test captain. On being asked about the same, Rahane said that nothing would change between him and Kohli.
Ajinkya Rahane had the daunting task of leading India in skipper Virat Kohli's absence in Australia following the Adelaide debacle. India were 1-0 down after a disastrous batting show in the 2nd innings of the Day/Night Test and three Tests were still remaining. To make things worse, several key players kept getting injured, forcing India to try out new players in almost every game.
But Rahane's captaincy worked brilliantly as India won the 2nd Test, then forced a hard draw in Sydney, and finally scripted a sensational win at the Gabba in the fourth Test to win the series 2-1.
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After the series win, questions are going around if Kohli should be replaced by Rahane as Test captain. On being asked about the same, Rahane said that nothing would change between him and Kohli.
"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 told PTI in an exclusive interview.
"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 the future also, I will try to give these kinds of results for my team," Rahane added.
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"Virat and I 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 said.
"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," he added.
On being asked about Kohli's captaincy, Rahane said: "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 try and ensure not to let him down," he signed off.