IND vs AUS: Ajinkya Rahane spreads calm energy in pressure situations, says Ishant Sharma

Indian Pacer Ishant Sharma believes that Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy to lead Indian team against Australia.

Vice-Captain Rahane is going to lead the team in the remaining three Test as Virat Kohli returns home to be with his pregnant wife Anushka Sharma.

Rahane will now have the responsibility of boosting the team’s morale and make them fight back after the humiliating 8-wicket defeat against Australia in this series-opening Test at Adelaide last week which they lost within 3 days.

But Ishant, who played a one-off Test under Rahane’s captaincy, is very sure that the team has nothing to worry about without Kohli as they have an able leader in Rahane, who he called a “bowler’s captain”.

“He’s very confident and I must say he’s a bowler’s captain. We’ve played so many times together. Whenever Virat was not there, he’d ask me ‘What kind of field you want? When you want to bowl? Do you want to go on (bowling)?’

“He’s a bowler’s captain. He’s not someone who’d say ‘do this or do that’. If there’s a partnership growing and it’s a flat phase when fielders are just going through their motions, one player’s energy level can change the scenario,” Ishant Sharma told ESPNcricinfo.

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Ishant also compared the two and pointed the advantages of having different characters like Kohli and Rahane in the Test team.

“The kind of energy Virat brings to the table … not everyone can match that.

“Jinx (Rahane) spreads calm energy in a pressure situation. There won’t be any tension, he’d communicate with the bowlers very well,” Ishant said.

The second Test is scheduled in Melbourne from December 26 followed by matches in Sydney and Brisbane.

Source: IndiaToday