We need an in-form player like Rahane for South Africa tour: Rathour
Batting coach Vikram Rathour believes playing with confidence has been a key aspect of Ajinkya Rahane’s comeback and the Indian team will be hoping he continues his form during the tour of South Africa later this year. Rahane’s knocks of 89 and 46 were the only positives for India during India’s defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in London last month. It was Rahane’s first Test in 18 months and has since been appointed as the vice-captain for the ongoing West Indies tour. The 35-year-old batsman, however, got out cheaply in the first Test here and will look to make amends in the second Test starting July 20 in Port of Spain. On Rahane’s return, Rathore said, “He played very well in the WTC final. He has always been a good player.
He was dropped from the team due to poor form. When it comes to technique, you work on it continuously but the important thing for me is that his attitude was very calm. “He said,” He is playing shots late and close to the body. This has been the most important thing since the comeback. He is still batting like this in the nets. We hope he does well. In South African conditions, you need someone like him to perform well. India will play its next Test series in South Africa in December-January. Rathour was impressed with the performance of young Yashasvi Jaiswal in his debut Test. Jaiswal laid the foundation for India’s victory by playing an innings of 171 runs. He said, “I have also been the first selector, so whenever you select a player, you should select him with the intention that he will play for India for the next 10 years. He definitely has potential.
Rathod said, “Although I have not worked with Yashasvi before. The most important thing for me was that I saw him score runs in the IPL. You must have seen how dynamic a batsman he is. What kind of stroke player he is. But he was also successful in changing the game according to the situation of the team. I think that was the highlight of the innings for me. Somebody who is capable of doing that, who can play against his character, his normal game, get out of that phase and then score runs, it was fantastic to see.’ Shubman after deciding to bat at number three Gill could not perform well in the first test.
But Rathour said Gill will get enough time to prove himself in his new batting line-up. “He has got a lot of potential and has reached that potential in other formats as well. He has also scored runs in Test cricket. Sometimes a specific format may take a while and that is time consuming. He has that time.” Rathore said, “He is taking time but the good thing is that there is no dearth of his hard work. He’s working on things. Along with the ability, he also has the patience that makes someone a great player. There is no doubt that he will play all three formats for a long time.
