R Sridhar's new book reveals that Rahane was a tough taskmaster as captain

For whatever reason, Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy does not get as much attention as it should. Rahane was India’s captain during the Virat Kohli era. Rahane, the Test side’s vice-captain, stepped up to lead the squad in Kohli’s absence – a rare occurrence – and did admirably as captain. He was in control when India needed to win the Dharamsala Test against Australia in 2017 to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and he was also in charge during India’s probably greatest-ever Test series triumph in 2020/21.

Nonetheless, for whatever reason, his qualifications as captain have always been swept under the rug. Rahane was neither as aggressive as Virat Kohli nor as serene as MS Dhoni. Instead, combine these two elements, and the result was Rahane as captain. Rahane consistently achieved a mix between aggressiveness and poise. Former India fielding coach R Sridhar chimed in on Rahane’s captaincy in his book ‘Coaching Beyond,’ outlining how the batter is far from an unauthoritarian leader.

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Rahane was not a weak character

“Make no mistake; Ajinkya was not a weak character. There was this incident when Prithvi Shaw was fielding at short leg in a warm-up game in Drummoyne, Sydney. The batter went for a sweep and Prithvi got smacked. As he tried to limp off the park towards the dressing room, Ajinkya was quickly on his case. From his position at slip, he had clearly seen exactly where Prithvi had been hit, which was on the shin pad,” he wrote in his book.

“Rahane went up to him and said firmly, ‘Don’t take one more step. No one will replace you on the field. I know nothing’s wrong with you, I saw the ball hit you on your shin pad. Maybe you were waiting for an opportunity to go back inside, but that’s not happening. Go back to the short leg and get into position. Prithvi knew his bluff had been called and subtly, Ajinkya had told the rest that he would brook no shenanigans. I was mightily relieved as I was the one slated to go in as substitute as we had only XI for that game.”

India have a fabulous record under him

Rahane led India in six Tests between 2017 and 2021, winning four and losing two. He hasn’t lost a single Test as India’s captain, and despite the small sample size, Rahane’s victory percentage as captain is 66.66. Rahul Dravid played a similar role as India’s captain during Sourav Ganguly’s rule, while Rahane played a similar one during Kohli’s reign. Sridhar emphasised how Rahane touched everyone the right way and bemoaned the fact that his captaincy is still underappreciated.

“Ajinkya can be firm when he has to be without being harsh, which is why India have such a good record under him. he has led the team in four Tests against Australia and India have won three of them, including two away from home. That’s a fantastic record for someone who doesn’t get to captain often, or in a string of games. He understands the game very well. He is very easy-going and approachable, and I got the sense that the senior players feel a greater sense of responsibility when he is the captain; they start chipping in more,” mentioned Sridhar.