"He had one good match but let's not get carried away" - Aakash Chopra on Ajinkya Rahane being made India's vice-captain for WI Tests
Aakash Chopra is not convinced that Ajinkya Rahane should have been made India's Test vice-captain after one good performance.
The selectors picked a 16-member Indian squad on Friday (June 23) for the two-Test series against the West Indies starting on July 12 in Roseau. Rahane has been named Rohit Sharma's deputy after his impressive performances with the bat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia.
Reflecting on the development in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra acknowledged that it is a great comeback story from Rahane's viewpoint. However, the former Indian opener wasn't sure whether it was a step in the right direction:
"If you think from Ajinkya Rahane's viewpoint, you will say - never give up, never say never. The world had written him off. He was India's best batter in the WTC final. He made a comeback at 35 and he is now the vice-captain of the side, which is a beautiful story."
Chopra added:
"Is it a step looking forward or not? I am not 100% certain. Ajju is also not getting younger by the day. If we are saying this about Pujara, we will have to say this about Ajju as well. He had one good match but let's not get carried away because you had dropped him based on performances over two-three years."
Rahane scored 89 and 46 runs respectively in his two innings of the WTC final. However, the Mumbai batter averaged a paltry 20.26 in 15 Tests before that game and was even dropped from the side for nearly one-and-a-half years.
"Could Ravichandran Ashwin not have been made the vice-captain?" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra questioned whether Ravichandran Ashwin couldn't have been made Rohit Sharma's deputy instead of Ajinkya Rahane:
"I have another opinion. If you have left out Cheteshwar Pujara because of his average of 29.69 and if you have made Ajinkya Rahane the vice-captain with an average of 26.50, could Ravichandran Ashwin not have been made the vice-captain?"
The reputed commentator suggested Ravindra Jadeja as another option if the selectors weren't sure of Ashwin's place in the XI:
"Otherwise, you could have made Ravindra Jadeja because at least one of the two is definitely going to play. You could have made Ashwin the vice-captain - he is going to be there. If he doesn't play, Jadeja will definitely play, he doesn't get dropped at all. So why not one of the two? Personally, I would have thought that way."
Chopra opined that the selectors could have persisted with Rahane but probably not made him the vice-captain. He concluded by reiterating that Ashwin could have been a better option.