Former Indian cricketer bemused by Ajinkya Rahane's exclusion

Ajinkya Rahane doesn’t have the worst of number for India in limited-overs cricket, but he somehow hasn’t been able to stay put in his position. He last played in the Men in Blue’s tour of South Africa earlier in February. He started his campaign with a jaw-dropping half-century but faltered thereafter. He hasn’t played the T20 format ever since August 2016.

India’s limited-overs team will now play T20Is and ODIs versus Ireland and England, and Rahane didn’t find a place in the squad. Last time around, with 192 runs from four ODIs, he was the Blue Army’s leading run-scorer. Meanwhile, Dilip Vengsarkar, the former Indian cricketer, expressed his surprise over Rahane’s omission while putting forth his necessity to be a part of the lineup.

“India has got a great chance in England”- Vengsarkar

“We have world-class players who can adapt, and that will be the key in England. I am really surprised [at Rahane’s exclusion]. It is a 50-over game and somebody has to stay around for a long time. Rahane was the right person to hold the middle-order. It is unfortunate,” Vengsarkar was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

The 62-year retired cricketer also believes that Virat Kohli and his troops have a decent chance to humble their opponents. “India has got a great chance in England, there is no question about that. How quickly they adapt to English conditions is important. I am glad that they will be playing the One-Day Internationals first. There will be enough matches before they head to the Test matches. They will get used to it,” he added.

India will start their tour of the United Kingdom (UK) tomorrow with a T20I series versus Ireland in Dublin. On July 3, Kohli’s boys will play their first match in England and their tour eventually ends in the second week of September.

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