Ajinkya Rahane would have been out of my plans if I was selector, reckons Sanjay Manjrekar

India recently suffered a 1-2 defeat against South Africa in a three-match Test series. The middle-order batting of Team India was a huge concern for the team as they regularly failed to score runs. The poor form of India senior batsmen, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane has been hurting the national side's winning chances in the past two years. 

Rahane failed to make an impact in the South Africa series too, scoring 136 runs from six innings scoring at an average of just above 20. The right-hand batsman's place in the Test side now remains uncertain with a dip in form and a few talented players waiting for their opportunity at the sidelines. Pujara also displayed a poor batting performance in the South Africa series, scoring 124 runs from three matches, which included a single fifty.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Manjrekar stated that there is still something left in Pujara, and he should be given more chances. However, the former Indian cricketer stated that if he was the selector, Ajinkya Rahane would have been out of his plans two years back.

“Pujara is interesting, he’s coming close to 100 Test matches. It will need a very unemotional selector to leave him out. And I personally have more time for Pujara than Rahane. This is from observing the way they bat. No other reason. I feel there is something left in Pujara, but Rahane, if I would have been the selector, would have been out of my plans two years back,” Manjrekar said to News 18.  

Manjreakr believes that the third Test against South Africa was Rahane’s last match of his red-ball career. He further added that Rahane has been a little unsure since 2017 while batting in Test cricket.

“If I am saying that it is Rahane’s last match (3rd Test vs South Africa in Cape Town), people should not wonder why I am saying that. I am sure you say the same thing privately, and the others. It’s not about runs but also how someone looks in the field. It’s from 2017 that Ajinkya Rahane somewhere has shown that he is a little unsure.

“You can see it in the way he bats, the way he gets out. That’s another thing that gives an indication about a player’s game. For example, Virat Kohli is not getting a hundred but he is still putting out the 70s and there is great value in having Virat Kohli before he discovers form. So Rahane for me is clearly somebody that has a shelf life that is over," Manjrekar added.