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Ian Chappell praises Ajinkya Rahane for growing as cricketer

Ian Chappell said Rahane has improved heaps since India's tour of Australia 2014.

Ian Chappell said Rahane has improved heaps since India's tour of Australia 2014 © Getty Images
Ian Chappell said Rahane has improved heaps since India’s tour of Australia 2014 © Getty Images

Ian Chappell opined that Ajinkya Rahane has grown as a cricketer since the beginning of the Australian tour last year in November, by embracing the opportunity to bat at number three recently in the three Tests series against Sri Lanka, which was won by the Virat Kohli’s team India. The cricketing legend even made a comparison between Rahane and English batsman Ian Bell, saying that although Bell has the talent to be a dominant three, but unlike Rahane he” didn’t embrace the opportunity and only moved there as a career-saving last resort.” READ– Rahul Dravid: Ajinkya Rahane is Indian cricket team’s best batsman

According to a report from Cricinfo, Chappell added,” There are two types of batsmen for No. 3: the skilled strokemaker who can mount a counter-attack, or the technically sound player who fights his way out of trouble after an early loss. For example, I’d put Ricky Ponting and VVS Laxman in the first category, and David Boon and Rahul Dravid in the second. Smith probably falls in the middle, slightly leaning towards the former. Photo: Ajinkya Rahane shares wall sketch at his new home

“My preference—if you have the choice—is for the Ponting/Laxman style over the Boon/Dravid style. If a captain is fortunate enough to have someone with that level of skill, you don’t dilute his attributes by batting him down the order,” Chappell said. With the end of the Sri Lankan tour, the Indian team is back to India and will soon get underway with the practice for the upcoming Gandhi-Mandela series against South Africa, which includes three Twenty20 Internationals, five One Day Internationals and four Tests. READ: Rahul Dravid says Ajinkya Rahane should bat at No. 5 in Test cricket

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