"Shamelessly missing practice match"- Fans roast Ajinkya Rahane on his absence from warm-up game
Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will not participate in the three-day practice match between Team India and the County Championship XI at Durham.
Rohit Sharma is captaining the Indian team in their absence, and the likes of Hanuma Vihari and KL Rahul will get to bat in the middle order.
India has won the toss and opted to bat first in the practice game.
Twitter reacts to Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane missing warm-up game
Fans on Twitter were skeptical about Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane missing the practice game. They believe conditions in England will be challenging for batting, and two of India's most important batters should have played the match.
Some also doubted whether Ajinkya Rahane had been dropped from the playing XI due to his poor form. Here's what fans had to say:
Has the team management lost faith in Ajinkya Rahane?
Last year, Ajinkya Rahane hit a sensational hundred in the Boxing Day Test Down Under and also led the Indian team to a historic series win in the absence of Kohli. Many had touted Rahane to take over the Test captaincy full time.
However, as has been the case with Ajinkya Rahane, inconsistency has once again crept into his batting. The right-hander has been getting off to starts but is failing to convert them into big scores.
The way Rahane is being dismissed has also become a cause for concern. In the World Test Championship (WTC) final, the 33-year-old was caught at square leg in the first innings and was strangled down the leg side in the second essay.
Fans have been frustrated to see this inconsistent side of Rahane, but the question is, has the team management too? There have been reports of Hanuma Vihari and KL Rahul being seen as options in the middle order.
With both playing in the warm-up game, could this mean that Rahane won't start the first Test against England? Only time will tell.