Ajinkya Rahane likely to lead team India in the Afghanistan Test

Team India is all set to host Afghanistan in a historic Test this year. The match will be the first ever Test match for the newly inducted Test side, Afghanistan. The match is scheduled to be played in the second week of June at the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru. While certain big names are likely to be missing from the Indian side, the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are likely to feature in the match.

It will be a historic occasion and the one off Test is already garnering a lot of attention in the cricket world. Interestingly, the Indian captain Virat Kohli is very much likely to skip this particular one off Test. Kohli has signed up with Surrey for a month long stint in the English summer. He has done so in an attempt to prepare for the England tour that the Indian team is lined up for in July.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been very considerate in their opinions on this. They have left the decision to Virat Kohli over his availability for the Afghanistan Test. Much likely, Kohli will skip the Test and play in England. The next big question that comes to the fore is about the Indian captain for the historic Test match.

Ajinkya Rahane leads the race

As per the recent reports in the Times of India, veteran cricketer Ajinkya Rahane is the forerunner to be named as the Indian captain for the match. Rahane has led the Indian team in the longest format before as well. He had led the Indian team against the touring Australian side in the Dharamsala Test last year. Under his leadership, team India had won the Test and had clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

However, it is worth noting that the appointment of Ajinkya Rahane as the captain could be quite amusing. During India’s recent tour of South Africa, Rahane did not feature in the starting eleven of the Indian side for the first two Tests. The team management had picked Rohit Sharma ahead of Rahane in those two matches.

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