India vs England 2021: Rahul Dravid told me to be strong mentally, says Ajinkya Rahane

Several young players like Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Rishabh Pant impressed many with their strong performances in the 2-1 series-win over Australia Down Under. Rahane was captain of the Indian team for the second, third, and fourth Tests of the Australia tour. India fought out a remarkable draw in the third Test and won the second and fourth to win the series 2-1 despite captain Virat Kohli going back home.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid bats during a tour of Australia. (Source: Twitter)

Former captain Rahul Dravid advised Ajinkya Rahane not bat a lot in the nets and put pressure on himself while leading the Indian team in Australia. Several young players like Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Rishabh Pant impressed many with their strong performances in the 2-1 series-win over Australia Down Under.  

“Rahul bhai actually called me before the series, when we were leaving to Australia from Dubai. He said, ‘Don’t take any stress, I know you are leading the team after the first Test. Don’t worry about anything, just be strong mentally. Don’t bat a lot in the nets’, (which is) unlike Rahul bhai,” Ajinkya Rahane told commentator Harsha Bhogle in an interaction. 

“Rahul bhai loves batting, and he was like ‘that’s the mistake I did’. He said, ‘don’t bat a lot in the nets, your preparation is really good, you’re batting so well. So, don’t take any pressure. Just think about how you are going to lead the team, how you are going to give confidence to the players. Don`t worry about the result, it will take care of itself’. That conversation really made it easy – Rahul bhai telling me to not bat a lot in the nets. It was really good,” he said. 

Rahane was captain of the Indian team for the second, third, and fourth Tests of the Australia tour. India fought out a remarkable draw in the third Test and won the second and fourth to win the series 2-1 despite captain Virat Kohli going back home after the first Test and a procession of injuries ruling out senior players like Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja over the course of the series.