Ajinkya Rahane wants to imbibe MS Dhoni’s calmness, Virat Kohli’s controlled aggression
Named captain for the tour of Zimbabwe, Ajinkya Rahane says he would like to take Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s calmness and Virat Kohli’s controlled aggression into the field when he wears the skipper’s hat in the upcoming limited-overs series.
Over the years, Rahane has played under various captains – Rahul Dravid, Dhoni and Kohli.
Asked what he would like to imbibe form them, Rahane said, “Firstly, playing under MS Dhoni I would observe how he would be calm on the field. He has a very peculiar and calm way of handling situations. I would like to take that quality from him. What I would like to take from Virat Kohli would be controlled aggression. You can see that quality in his batting and his captaincy.”
“And finally, Rahul bhai is someone who likes to keep things really simple on the field which I got to know while playing under him with the Rajasthan Royals.”
The 27-year-old batsman, who had led the Mumbai U-19 side in the past, though has his own ideas as far as captaincy is concerned.
“I have my own set of ideas and I know what I have to do on the field. Obviously I have others to help me out as well and I wouldn’t mind running up to them for advices. But I would like to take calmness, controlled aggression and simplicity from the three captains that I just spoke about,” Rahane was quoted as saying by ‘bcci.tv’.
Talking about the tour, he said, “As a captain I believe it is always important to back your players and give them confidence. I want to lead by example and be positive at all times. It is a challenge to lead a side that doesn’t have the services of the seniors, but every international tour is challenging. We take every opposition seriously and Zimbabwe is no different.”
Asked further about how he would like to lead the side, Rahane said, “As a captain you have to access the situations and conditions and analyse every opposition. We will actually get a good idea of how to strategise when we meet as a group and jot down our plan in Zimbabwe. I am just looking forward to back my instincts and back my style of leadership.
“I will be taking help from the support staff as well. I also have the experience of Harbhajan Singh in the side whose guidance will be of great help. I have tried to learn from each and every captain I have played under.
“We would like to finish on a high and we want to do well in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe have been playing well of late and put up a spirited performance in the World Cup. We will play to our potential and give our best.”
