India is all set to take the centre stage against Australia in the first Test against Australia on Thursday. On Tuesday, Indian vice-captain addressed the media personnel and asserted that their success in Australia relies upon the longer partnerships between the batsmen.
“Each and every batsman's role will be to contribute for the team and I think for us it is important to get those long partnerships together (like last time). That will be really helpful in (winning the series) in Australia,” said Rahane.
The Indian batting line-up has come under immense criticism for their twin failures in South Africa and England, wherein Kohli was the only one to defy the opposition.
“People will criticise or appreciate, but for us, it matters to stay together in difficult times. In England, conditions were really challenging and even English batsmen struggled a lot. Apart from Alastair Cook's last Test innings, no one scored (big runs) for them. So it is important not to focus on criticism or even on people who appreciate,” said Rahane.
“It is important to start fresh in each and every series. In England and South Africa, we learnt a lot and there are definitely areas to improve. When you tour abroad, in countries like England, South Africa and Australia, it is important to start well.”
When asked about his personal growth as a batsman since he first came here as part of the 2014-15 touring party, Rahane said, “As a batsman in 2014, personally I thought I did really well but what the team's performance matters more. When you do well as a team, you feel really good.”
There is also an intense spotlight on the Australian batting line-up and how they will cope in the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner. Rahane said that playing at home, Australia start as favourites.
“I feel any team that plays at home is really good and Australia are still favourites to win the series. Yes, they will miss Smith and Warner but I don't think they are vulnerable. Look at their bowling attack, they have really good bowlers. When you have to win Test matches and Test series you have to have a good bowling attack.
“Definitely Smith and Warner are quality players, and I will not take anything away from them. But on a given day anyone can score runs. Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch are equally dangerous in their conditions. They know how the wicket behaves and it is all about intent as batsmen.”
After enjoying a day off on Monday, India got down to business in a bid to prepare for the first Test. All top-order batsmen had an intense work out in the nets, with the team management likely to go in with six full-time batsmen.