India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour has backed struggling Ajinkya Rahane to do well in the next match, saying now is not the time to worry about his form and he is going through a tough phase right now. The Indian middle order, especially vice-captain Rahane, did not fire, but Rathore said there was nothing to worry about.
He said, “…when you’ve been playing cricket for so long, you’ll have phases where you don’t get runs, and that’s when we as a team need to support them and do as much as we can. They need to be supported,” he said. During a virtual press conference on Sunday.
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“We also saw with Pujara, he was getting more opportunities and he came back and played very important innings for us.
“So, we are hoping that Ajinkya will be back in form and he will still play a major role in the Indian team’s batting, so I don’t think we have reached the point where it should become a concern.”
When asked whether Rahane was facing technical issues or was it a mental block, Rathore said, “When you are playing such an important series and when you are playing in conditions which are good for batting. We are playing against such disciplined bowling. An attack that is bowling well, technique as a batting unit is the last thing we should be thinking about.”
Rathore said the team was a bit distracted from the fourth day of the fourth Test as head coach Ravi Shastri tested positive for COVID-19.
The BCCI medical team on Saturday evening isolated Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and physiotherapist Nitin Patel as a precaution after the head coach tested positive for lateral flow.
“Of course, we are missing them in a big way. Ravi bhai, B Arun and R Sridar, they have been an extremely important part of this set up and they have done very well in the last five-six years and have given the team a good run. has played a major role in doing this,” Rathore said.
India were in a commanding position, scoring 466 in the second essay, thanks to a memorable century by Rohit Sharma and equally important innings by Cheteshwar Pujara, Shardul Thakur and Rishabh Pant.
“But it’s the same. It’s true that they’re not here. So, this morning was, I think, a little distracting, we had a word, we talked, and decided what we had at hand, That needs to be taken care of, which is cricket,” Rathore said.
“…It is an extremely important series that we are playing and today when we arrived in the morning, it was an extremely important day for us, to focus on cricket. So, I think the boys did very well not to be distracted.
“There was a possibility that we might deviate from what happened last night, but a lot of credit goes to the boys, the way they handled themselves and the way we played as a team.”
The batting coach said that Shastri had some trouble on Saturday after which the test was conducted.
“… it was around 8 o’clock last night. Yesterday he was having some trouble, so the medical team decided to go for lateral-pro test and it came positive and that’s when we heard that he is positive.
“I think, close contacts were identified and isolated, so we will wait for the medical team to see when they can join back,” he said.
Rathore also praised Shardul Thakur, who scored half-centuries in both the innings and said that he can play a big role in Indian cricket.
“Very impressive. We all knew that he (Shardul) can bat, he is someone who works hard on his batting, and his biggest asset is temperament, the kind of confidence he has with his batting and the kind of confidence he has with his batting. Kind of body language, it’s very impressive.
“He (Shardul) is in his fourth or fifth Test match now and he has already played three crucial innings in this short span, which tells you that he has potential and he will play a big role in Indian cricket in the times to come. can perform.” The batting coach said.
He also said that the innings played by Rishabh Pant was “out of character”.
“The innings he (Pant) played was a bit out of character, he played the innings really well, played with a lot of discipline, so we have always known that he has the potential and he is going to make the most of that ability. Can bring forward and play. In different situations differently, it will do well for him and the Indian team as well.”
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