India vs Australia | Virat Kohli confident of Ajinkya Rahane doing "tremendous job" in his absence

Add as a preferred source on Google

Adelaide, December 16: Virat Kohli will return to India after the first Test against Australia in Adelaide, starting from Thursday (December 17). Ajinkya Rahane, the vice-captain of the side, will lead the side in his absence in the three remaining Tests.

Kohli expressed confidence that Rahane will do a good job in his absence as the stand-in captain, and India had won the two Test matches in which Rahane led the team. India had defeated Afghanistan and Australia, both at home, under Rahane.

"We have had a lot of mutual understanding. We have had some great partnerships batting together, which is based on trust. Rahane has done a tremendous job in the two practice games (as India captain). He seems to be very composed and he knows the strengths of our team and how we need to go about it. It's a cultural effort and not just me strategising things and putting things in front of people, it's the whole team that's involved," Kohli said in a virtual press meet on Wednesday (December 16).

"We already know the template we play with and how we are to go ahead. We are absolutely on the same page and I am sure Rahane will do a tremendous job in my absence. The focus remains, till the time I am here, to be able to provide captaincy and performances to the best of my abilities," Kohli said.

Considering that he will be in Australia for just one test, Kohli on his strategies said: "I like to keep things simple. I do not quite carry forward anything from the past. It is very important to stay in the present. Last time around, our challenge was different. Starting in Adelaide, we had a goal, which we wanted to achieve - we wanted to win, so it was important to start well. The goal remains similar this time as well," said Kohli.

However, Kohli admitted that Pink Ball Test is a little more difficult. "Pink-ball Test is probably going to be a bit more challenging in terms of conditions and how the ball moves around in the evening and stuff like that. For us as a team, it is about adaptability. Probably, the focus will be to understand the situations we are presented with and counter that as best as possible with our abilities.

"Every challenge is new and different and you have to understand the difficulties and requirement to fulfil that particular challenge and hopefully, make sure you come out on top," he said.