Sanjay Manjrekar feels calling Ajinkya Rahane as ‘crisis man’ would be too far fetched.© AFP
Ajinkya Rahane’s return to the Indian team for the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia has been a topic of debate withing the cricketing folklore. Rahane, who dropped from the team after the two-match Test series against New Zealand in January 2022, was recalled to the side after his exploits in the domestic circuit, as well as the Indian Premier League. On his return to the side, Rahane scored a gritty 89 to lead India’s fightback against a dominanat Australian side. During his knock, Rahane also went past the milestone of 5,000 Test runs.
While the batter has been receiving praise from all corners, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels calling Rahane as ‘crisis man’ of the team would be too far fetched for now.
“I don’t think Ajinkya Rahane can be called a batter in crisis. There’s another innings to go, the crisis has to be averted in a way that you either draw or win the game. But this innings, solely on the kind of odds… he’s done brilliant,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
However, Manjrekar suggested if Rahane can stitch a similar knock in the second innings, it might prove to be a blessing for the team, as well as his own career.
“To call him the player in crisis… he has played an odd innings, but the old Ajinkya Rahane would follow it with low scores. Who knows, the new Ajinkya Rahane could be the Test batter 2.0. Maybe, he can carry it in the second innings as well,” he added.
India trail Australia by 296 runs with two full days of play left in the WTC Final.
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