Former Indian skipper and a legendary cricketer Rahul Dravid is often credited for his contributions in nurturing the young talent for Indian cricket.
From Prithvi Shaw to Shubman Gill, several youngsters who were part of the winning Indian Test team in the recently-concluded Australian tour were trained by Dravid at different levels like India U-19 and India A.
Ajinkya Rahane, who led Team India to a splendid 2-1 series win in the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli, has now recalled a piece of advice he received from Dravid ahead of Indian team’s departure to Australia.
During a chat with veteran cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle, Rahane revealed how Dravid had advised him not to bat a lot in the net sessions and avoid captaincy stress.
“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,” Rahane told Harsha Bhogle as quoted by IndiaTV.
Rahane stated that Dravid gave his own example and suggested him not to repeat those mistakes. The Mumbaikar reminisced how Dravid counselled him to focus on the captaincy and give confidence to other players.
“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’, he added.
“That conversation really made it easy, Rahul bhai telling me not to bat a lot in the nets. It was really good,” Rahane added further.
India is currently preparing for the upcoming four-Test series against England, starting on February 05 in Chennai. The first two Tests will take place in Chennai, whereas the final two are scheduled to occur at Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Kohli will return as the regular captain, while Rahane shall resume Team India’s vice-captain duties.
