SA vs IND 2022: There will be pressure on Ajinkya Rahane to keep his place in the team – Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons there will be pressure on Ajinkya Rahane to keep his place in the team. A lot of cricket boffins believe Rahane should not have received his chance in the opening Test match against South Africa at SuperSport, Centurion.

However, the former vice-captain was backed by the team management because of his experience. The right-hander scored a crucial knock of 48 runs in the first innings of the first Test match and added an important alliance with KL Rahul to put the team in a commanding position.

Subsequently, Rahane scored 20 runs in the second essay and thus he is expected to keep his place in the second Test despite his poor run of form. However, Sanjay Manjrekar believes Team India should also consider Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer.

Vihari has done well in overseas conditions and he was also amongst the runs while playing for India A on the tour of South Africa. Furthermore, Shreyas Iyer scored a fine century on his Test debut against New Zealand at Kanpur.

“The team management is backing Rahane. India have won the first Test, and Rahane scored 48 runs in the first innings as well. So he might get another shot. But they should also think about Vihari and Shreyas Iyer. The more chances Rahane gets, the fewer chances the other guys will have. So this needs to be discussed,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo.

On the other hand, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli have not been in the best of forms in the last couple of years but Rahane’s form is a major concern for the team.

“Pujara and Kohli’s form is understandable and they will get opportunities. But Rahane’s poor form has been going on for some time now. So there’ll be pressure on Rahane to keep his place in the side,” he added.

Rahane will look to convert his starts into big scores and he will look to make the most of his experience. On the other side, India was able to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after winning the opening Test match by 113 runs.

The second Test match will be played at the Wanderers, Johannesburg, where India has never lost a Test match.