Would have been better if Ajinkya Rahane had got a break from Test cricket: Zaheer Khan

There were rounds of discussions on India’s playing XI for the fourth Test match against England. The other thing that became the hot topic of debate was the tactic to send Ravindra Jadeja ahead of Ajinkya Rahane. However, that quite didn’t work as the Indian batting line-up struggled. The former India pacer Zaheer Khan has opened up about Rahane’s performance.

Zaheer Khan spoke about the footwork of Ajinkya Rahane and pointed that he is having a tough time on the pitch owing to that. The vice-captain of India has registered a string of low scores and has been dealing with a rough patch. He has scored just one fifty in the series so far and has been unable to put big scores.

Zaheer thus feels that sometimes it is better than the players who are under pressure are rested. According to the speedster, it would have been alright to give Rahane a break to work on himself.

“Would have been better if Rahane had got a break. There is a lot of pressure on him. And sometimes it is better that you take the player out of that pressure than to let him bear that. Let him work on the technique and get the clarity and then from there you can move forward,” Zaheer Khan said in an interaction with Cricbuzz.

‘I feel the story is more about the technique’ –  Zaheer Khan speaks on Ajinkya Rahane’s struggle  

The hosts chose to bowl first in the overcast conditions and the Indian team witnessed yet another batting collapse as they were bundled up for 191 in the first innings. The middle order of India had been placed under major scrutiny for their poor performances. Craig Overton bowled an outswinger which Rahane looked to push but it got an outside edge. Moeen Ali completed a splendid catch as Rahane walked back to the hut.

Zaheer Khan said that Ajinkya Rahane is probably struggling with his technique. He also stated that the conditions at the Oval further created a tough challenge for the batter.

“One innings left. It has to be seen how much change he can make in this short time. I feel the story is more about the technique. Even the condition did not go in that much favor today as there were overcast conditions in The Oval and a bit of extra bounce was also there and thus he didn’t get much help,” Zaheer Khan added.