Important for Virat Kohli to have a vice-captain like Ajinkya Rahane: Vivek Razdan
Former India pace bowler Vivek Razdan has lauded Ajinkya Rahane’s leadership skills. According to him, Virat Kohli’s aggressive style of leadership is perfectly complemented by the calm and composed vice-captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane.
Speaking to Sportskeeda’s Indranil Basu in an SK Live session on Facebook, Razdan described Ajinkya Rahane as a very mature character.
On the equation between Rahane and captain Kohli, Razdan opined:
“A team is good because every individual brings something different to the table. Everyone cannot be a Cheteshwar Pujara or an Ajinkya Rahane. Similarly, everyone cannot be a Virat. Ajinkya Rahane is a very mature character apart from being a very good cricketer. That’s why it is very important to have a vice-captain like Ajinkya Rahane for a captain like Virat. Because he is very calm and composed.”
According to Razdan, Ajinkya Rahane plays the role assigned to him to the best of his abilities. The 51-year-old further said:
“He will also observe the game from his viewpoint. And, whenever he feels India is lagging behind or has missed a trick, he will surely approach Virat with his suggestions.”
When asked for his views about the qualities needed to be a good vice-captain, Razdan replied:
“A good vice-captain’s role is to not give too many inputs to the captain and influence him, but be aware of the match situations and chip in with his thoughts at appropriate times. Sometimes a captain gets so caught up with the pressure of leading a team, he could miss the basics, and this is where a good vice-captain like Ajinkya Rahane can step in.”
Virat Kohli alone cannot win all the matches for India: Vivek Razdan
The cricketer-turned-commentator, who played two Tests and three ODIs for India, is pleased to see that the current Indian outfit has moved away from its over-dependence on Kohli.
According to Razdan, one great player cannot make a good team. Elaborating further, he said:
“Every team has special players. If you speak about white-ball cricket, Rohit Sharma is at the same level as Virat. His achievements in the limited-overs formats cannot be taken lightly. Similarly, Virat has made a great name for himself as an impactful Test player. But that doesn’t mean that he alone will win all the matches for India.”
He added in the same vein:
“Virat can be expected to play his part as a world-class batsman. However, to be the best in the world, India will need the others to chip in. Virat alone isn’t Team India. An individual alone cannot make a team. It’s all about how the entire squad performs.”
Having returned from his paternity break, Kohli will lead India in the four-match series against England, starting February 5.