Ajinkya Rahane reveals how Virat Kohli keeps him on his toes as vice-captain

Ajinkya Rahane took over India's captaincy after the first Test against Australia as regular skipper Virat Kohli went on paternity leave. The Mumbai-based cricketer led the Indian team with flamboyance and courage and guided the side to a stunning 2-1 series win in Australia. Notably, the Men in Blue were without the services of most of their star players but Rahane's inspiring leadership and team's collective effort ensured that India scripted history Down Under.

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Ajinkya Rahane says his job becomes easy when captain Virat Kohli is around

However, with the return of Kohli to the side for the upcoming four-match India vs England Test series, Rahane has once again taken up his role as the vice-captain of the team, thus handing to over the captaincy duties to Kohli. Rahane has now opened up on the transition from captain to being the vice-captain. While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Rahane said that his job is to take a backseat and to help Kohli.

The gritty batsman added that as a captain, there are too many things running on his mind so as vice-captain, he has to visualise the situation and think about what can happen in the game and when Kohli comes up and asks him for suggestions regarding certain decisions or issues, he has to be ready with it.

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Rahane further clarified though that his job is actually easier when Kohli is around. According to him, the clarity of communication between him and Kohli is what helps them a lot. Recently, he also made it clear that he has no permanent captaincy aspirations as such as this is Virat Kohli's team and that as his deputy, he just did his duty to the best of his abilities in Australia.

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Meanwhile, the India vs England 1st Test is set to commence from Friday, February 5 in Chennai. The India vs England live streaming of the first Test will commence at 9:30 AM (IST). The series is crucial for India as it will decide if the Indian team manages to qualify for the WTC final at Lord's. Virat Kohli's men will have to win at least two Tests against England without losing the other two matches to ensure a spot in the WTC final against New Zealand which is slated to be played from June 18 to 22.

India squad for England Tests 2021: Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-captain), Rishabh Pant (Wicket-keeper), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Hardik, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur.

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SOURCE: AP