Former Aus coach warns Ajinkya Rahane not to emulate Virat Kohli in the Test series

Former coach of the Australian cricket team John Buchanan has said that Team India's vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane is not like Virat Kohli in his gameplay and shouldn't try to emulate his captain if the middle-order mainstay wishes to succeed in the upcoming series against Australia. Both teams will be locking horns in a four-match Test series that gets underway on December 17.

'His first job will be to...': John Buchanan

"Virat's departure from the team is a huge blow to the Indian campaign in Australia. They will miss his enthusiasm, his competitiveness, his belief in what they can do as a team. On top of this, they will be missing one of the finest batsmen in world cricket," said Buchanan during an exclusive interaction with ANI from Brisbane.

"I do not have any insight into Rahane as a leader and a captain. He will not be Kohli, nor should he try to be. His first job will be to score runs, and lead by example this way," added the former Australian coach.

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Virat Kohli in 2020/21 Australia series

Kohli will be leading India in the limited-overs series against the five-time world champions that includes three One Day Internationals which will be followed by the same number of T20Is. He will then be making a solitary Test appearance by leading his team in the opening Test match at the Adelaide Oval. s of now, the Adelaide Test is expected to be played under lights with the pink-ball. 

The batting megastar would be heading back to India after the first Test match to be with his wife Anushka Sharma as they are expecting their first child in January. He has been granted paternity leave by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). 

With Rohit Sharma's inclusion in India's Test squad for the Australia series, it is likely that the opening batsman might also lead the team, after Kohli's departure. Ajinkya Rahane, the Test vice-captain, could also be leading the squad in place of Virat Kohli. However, there has been no final decision on it yet. 

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(Image Courtesy: Ajinkya Rahane Twitter)