"He is the vice-captain of this team for sure but you get the feeling that the notice period is on" - Aakash Chopra on Ajinkya Rahane's failure
Aakash Chopra feels Ajinkya Rahane's position in the Indian Test team is at stake despite him being the vice-captain of the side.
Rahane managed only eight runs in India's first innings of the second Test against the West Indies at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Thursday, July 20. The visitors ended Day 1 on 288/4, on the back of half-centuries from Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli.
While reviewing the day's play in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on the two Indian batters who were dismissed without making a significant contribution. The former Indian opener was slightly pessimistic about Rahane retaining his place in the side, saying:
"Ajinkya Rahane - he is the vice-captain of this team for sure but you get the feeling that the notice period is on. It happens with some players and it seems like it is happening with him as well or will happen."
Chopra pointed out that the Mumbai batter could have been dismissed played-on earlier in his innings as well, observing:
"He got an inside edge once earlier as well. Then he got it a second time and the ball hit the stumps. It was a session where India lost four wickets and the run-scoring was slow but in the end, India are in a commanding situation."
Rahane's dismissal, the last wicket to fall on the day, put India in a slight spot of bother, with the score reading 182/4 at that stage. However, Virat Kohli (87*) and Ravindra Jadeja (36*) then strung together an unbroken 106-run fifth-wicket partnership to ensure that the visitors will enjoy the upper hand heading into the second morning.
"It neither suited him in the last match nor here" - Aakash Chopra on Shubman Gill's 2nd successive failure at No. 3
Aakash Chopra highlighted that Shubman Gill failed to grab his opportunity at his desired No. 3 position, elaborating:
"Shubman Gill came at No. 3. It neither suited him in the last match nor here and the short knock he played here, it was a less convincing knock. He didn't look in a lot of control and then he gets an outside edge and gets out."
Ahead of the first Test against the West Indies, Gill told Rahul Dravid that he would prefer to bat at No. 3. However, the youngster has aggregated just 16 runs in his two hits at the position thus far. He might find it difficult to retain his position in the XI going forward unless he plays a substantial knock in the second innings, assuming he gets a chance to do so.