Tendulkar and Ganguly back inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane

An unfortunate injury to Yuvraj Singh has finally opened the door for the inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane. Although Manish Pandey has been drafted into the side, Rahane seems to be the popular pick among the recent legends of the game, namely Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

41-year old Sachin Tendulkar sounded confident stating that Ajinkya Rahane’s familiarity with the Wankhede Stadium may come in handy for the Indians. Tendulkar also stated that the wicket will help the seamers and the ball will come on to the bat nicely before stating that it was a blessing in disguise of sorts that the southpaw was injured prior to the match.

“I think Rahane should replace Yuvraj. It is his home ground and he has scored lots of runs here. He knows what to expect here and that’s an advantage for India,” Tendulkar said.

“This pitch will help seamers. The ball will come on to the bat nicely. There is no question about his class as a batsman but I don’t think Yuvraj would have played a role with the ball,” Tendulkar added.

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has also come out stating that it was  indeed a massive blow to see Yuvraj Singh miss the tournament. However, in contrast to Tendulkar, Ganguly pointed out that Pawan Negi may well get his chance on the big stage. It would be a like-for-like swap should Negi be handed his World T20 debut.

Ganguly said, “It’s (Yuvraj injury) a huge blow for India. India will miss his bowling. There is a difference in opinion between Negi and Rahane. It also depends on the pitch.”

Ganguly added that Rahane was indeed the popular choice as Pawan Negi didn’t have the necessary experience to come into the squad for a game as important as this one.

“I don’t think Negi should play in place of Yuvraj. It will make the batting weak. Rahane has the experience and the ability to play well in the big matches. He should be batted at No. 4. He may not be a hard-hitting T20 player but will do the job. If Dhoni feels the pitch will turn, he should drop Hardik Pandya and play Negi.”