South Africa v India 2023/24

Watch: Out-of-favour Ajinkya Rahane posts batting videos hours after India’s thumping Test loss | SA vs IND

by Wisden Staff December 29, 2023 - 11:42am 3 minute read

Ajinkya Rahane has posted a short video of him training hours after India’s record defeat to South Africa at Centurion.

The Centurion Test was notable for many reasons. India’s defeat ensured that their wait for a first ever series win in South Africa continues, and it was also a dent to their hopes of qualifying for a third consecutive World Test Championship final. It was also the first time since Adelaide 2011/12 that India have fielded an XI in an overseas Test match without both Ajinkya Rahane or Cheteshwar Pujara.

For much of the last decade the pair have been mainstays in the India middle order, generally batting at Nos.3 and 5 around Virat Kohli who normally operates at No.4. Since the start of 2020, though, Rahane averages 25.39 in Test cricket. Pujara’s average of 29.69 in that time is not much better.

Pujara, 35, was dropped after India’s defeat in this year’s World Test Championship final. Rahane, who scored 89 in that match, was dropped following India’s tour of the Caribbean where he registered two single figure scores.

Pujara has effectively been replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal. The young left-hander has moved to the top of the order, a shift that has seen Shubman Gill moved down to No. 3. Gill’s own recent form has led to questions over his place in the side. Rahane, meanwhile, has been usurped by Shreyas Iyer who has made an encouraging start to his Test career albeit predominantly in familiar conditions in Asia.

Rahane posted the video of him training to his 6.7 million X (formerly Twitter) followers the morning after India’s loss at Centurion, which also happened to be their biggest ever loss in South Africa at an innings and 32 runs. Was it a dig at his omission from the side? We’ll never know but Rahane is, at best, an infrequent poster on X.

It’s the second time in 2023 that he has posted a video of himself batting on X, the previous occasion was the eve of the World Cup final. He posted a similar video on December 11, 2022 – three days before India’s first Test in Bangladesh, another tour that Rahane was not selected for.