Senior India batter Ajinkya Rahane, not popularly known for his hard-hitting abilities, steered Chennai Super Kings to a six-wicket win over five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians at Wankhede cricket stadium on Saturday (April 8). Ajinkya Rahane, in his franchise debut for CSK, made an astounding comeback to international cricket by scoring 61 off just 27 deliveries, helping MS Dhoni & Co attain second win in IPL 2023, move to fourth position in the IPL 2023 Points Table. Chennai Super Kings had acquired Rahane for his base price (INR 50 lakh) in IPL auction, after which MS Dhoni had revealed that he had an honest conversation with the India batter when CSK started preparing for the new season in March.
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“Me and Jinks (Rahane) spoke at the start of the season and I told him to play to his strengths, use your ability to manipulate the fields. I told him to go and enjoy, don't take stress. Yes, we might not be able to give you the first game, but whenever the chance comes, we'll back you,” Dhoni had said in the post-match presentation.
Ex-India star Virender Sehwag, however, questioned Dhoni over Rahane's place in the CSK team. For most of his career, Rahane played under MS Dhoni - the captain - and was a regular in the Indian cricket team until 2018. Virender Sehwag wondered why MS Dhoni kept Ajinkya Rahane in CSK when the latter wasn't required in ODIs because he was "slow."
“What did he see in Ajinkya Rahane that he kept him in the IPL team, but didn't play him for India?” Sehwag asked on Cricbuzz.
“Players need confidence. But I'm asking captain Dhoni. When he was the captain of Indian team, he didn't keep him in one-day team, saying ‘he is slow. He can’t rotate strike'. Now, suddenly, when he needed experience, he brought in Ajinkya Rahane,” Sehwag further said.