Ajinkya Rahane gets much-needed confidence vote from selectors

New Delhi: In the Indian team announced for the Zimbabwe tour, Ajinkya Rahane was named skipper on Monday.

This latest news signals a complete turnaround in the fortunes of the Mumbai batsman after he failed to find place in MS Dhoni's team for the last two ODIs against Bangladesh.

“We all felt that Ajinkya would do really well as a third opener," said skipper Dhoni replying to a question from a reporter about surprisingly relegating Rahane to the bench for India's 2nd ODI against Bangladesh.

“But we have had to move him up and down to the order. Thing is, Rahane needs pace. We have seen that he plays a lot better when there is pace on a wicket. Whenever he has played at No. 4 or No. 5, if the wicket is slow, then he struggles to rotate the strike freely. Especially when he is just starting his innings, he has a bit of trouble, " he added.

However, the Indian board and national selectors reposed faith in the Rajasthan Royals batsman as he was handed the captaincy responsibilities of the second string Indian side for the upcoming tour.

Despite the remarks of MS Dhoni on Rahane's batting, the selectors said their job was to pick the best team combination and stated they wanted to see the leadership aspect of the right-hander's personality.

This latest development will no doubt boost the confidence of Rahane after the disappointment of being dropped from the team during the last tour.

Rahane is yet to score a fifty after his knock of 79 against South Africa during the group stages of the 2015 World Cup.

A return to form and a series win on his first captaincy assignment will go a long way in helping Rahane return to his best in ODI cricket.