Watch: Ajinkya Rahane is back training ahead of England Test series
Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has returned to training in the nets ahead of the Test series against England at home.
Ajinkya Rahane took to social media and posted a video of his batting session in the nets. In the clip, the right-handed batsman is seen working on his defence and driving.
Ajinkya Rahane captioned the video:
“Back to training.”
On Tuesday, Indian captain Virat Kohli had posted a video of him batting in the nets on his Instagram account. Earlier in the day, Kohli and other members of Team India took part in a light-hearted training session and also participated in a game of footvolley.
The first Test of the four-match series between India and England will start from February 5 in Chennai. The second Test will also be played in Chennai, followed by two more Tests at the Motera stadium in Ahmedabad.
Don't bat a lot in the nets: Rahul Dravid advised Ajinkya Rahane before Australia series
While Ajinkya Rahane is seen concentrating hard in the nets, former India captain Rahul Dravid had, interestingly, advised Rahane not bat a lot in the nets ahead of the series against Australia.
Ajinkya Rahane told commentator Harsha Bhogle in an interaction:
"Rahul bhai actually called me before the series, when we were leaving to Australia from Dubai. He said, 'Don't take any stress, I know you are leading the team after the first Test. Don't worry about anything, just be strong mentally. Don't bat a lot in the nets', (which is) unlike Rahul bhai."
He further added in this regard:
"Rahul bhai loves batting, and he was like 'that's the mistake I did'. He said, 'don't bat a lot in the nets, your preparation is really good, you're batting so well. So, don't take any pressure. Just think about how you are going to lead the team, how you are going to give confidence to the players. Don't worry about the result, it will take care of itself.'"
The advice seemed to work wonders as Ajinkya Rahane scored a magnificent hundred in the Boxing Day Test, and went on to lead India to a famous series triumph Down Under.
Ajinkya Rahane, however, has played down reports asking him to take over the Test captaincy permanently, stating in no uncertain terms that Virat Kohli is the skipper.