Indian player Dinesh Karthik suggested that Ajinkya Rahane should be dropped from the second and final test against Black Caps that will help ease some of the pressure off him.
Indian batsmen Ajinkya Rahane didn’t perform very well with the bat in the first test against New Zealand. His place in the team India for the second and final test is in danger due to poor performance.
He could manage to score only 35 and 4 in the opening Test in Kanpur. The 33-year-old batting average is 19.6 in 2021.
According to Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik, Rahane getting dropped from the Indian team for the Mumbai test will help ease some of the pressure off him.
India didn’t win the first test and New Zealand’s last wicket partnership between Rachin Ravindra and Ijaz Patel sent the Indian team into trouble and they successfully save the game by staying on the pitch. Indian team needed only one wicket to steal the victory from New Zealand but couldn’t do it.
“With Shreyas Iyer coming in and doing so well, I think the pressure will be on Rahane and he might be the one to be dropped. This has happened during a tour of South Africa when Rahane was dropped for a game before he again came back. There is no harm if Rahane’s dropped for a game,”
Karthik said in a discussion with a Cricbuzz.
“Iyer has taken India to the safe zone in this Test on his own. He’s done well. And It’s not like Rahane has not been among the runs in 1-2 Tests. It has been going on for a long time now. I don’t think it’s such a bad thing for him to be dropped. It will ease some of the pressure on him,”
he added.
“I do think a similar sort of baggage is there on (Cheteshwar) Pujara too. He hasn’t got a hundred in a long time. And since the start of 2020, he too has averaged in the mid-20s. These are two players who have set their standards very high. They would know they haven’t performed according to expectations.”