Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar drew attention to vice captains Rahane’s poor string of score since the MCG hundred against Australia last year.
Rahane’s wittiness helped India level the series since he contributed 27*, 22, 4, 37, 24, 1 and 0 including the first Test against England.
“My issue with Rahane the captain is Rahane the batsman. After that 100 in Melbourne his scores are – 27*, 22, 4, 37, 24, 1 & 0. After a 100, class players carry their form & carry the burden of players out of form,” Manjrekar tweeted.
However, Indian Skipper Virat Kohli wasn’t amused when questioned about Rahane’s manner of dismissal – he was bowled by James Anderson on Day 5 – Kohli said: “Look I got bowled as well. If you are trying to dig something out, you are not going to get it because there is nothing.”
“Ajinkya, I have said this many a times in the past as well (that) along with (Cheteshwar) Pujara, he is our most important Test batsman and he continues to be as we believe in his abilities and he is an impact player
“If you are talking about MCG Test, he stood up and scored a hundred when the team wanted it the most. You can look at number of innings and what happens from thereon, the reality is we won the series in Australia.”
England took a 1-0 lead in the four-match series by beating India by 227 run at the first Test at Chennai.