Ajinkya Rahane's poor form not a concern right now: India batting coach Vikram Rathour

Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour has brushed aside question marks over Ajinkya Rahane's form in the ongoing Test series against England.

Rathour said the vice-captain is just going through a lean phase and that the team is not too concerned about it at the moment. The visitors are hoping Ajinkya Rahane will strike form soon, and emulate Cheteshwar Pujara.

Ajinkya Rahane is currently the lowest run scorer among the recognized Indian batsmen in the series, and is even below bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Ajinkya Rahane's average is reeling at a lowly 15.57 after four Tests. It took a further hit when he was dismissed for an eight-ball duck on the batting-friendly Oval wicket on Sunday.

Speaking at the post-day press conference, Rathour said:

"Not at this point. As I have said earlier as well, when you play cricket for such a long time, you will have phases where you won't get runs. That's a time when as a team, you need to back them and support them as much as possible. We saw that with Pujara also, he got more opportunities and [made a] come back, he's played a couple of important innings for us."

The former opening batsman said:

"We are hoping that Ajinkya will also get back to form, and he'll, you know, still play a major role in the Indian team's batting. So, I don't think we have arrived to that point where it should become a concern."

Not at all been a good 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣1️⃣ for Ajinkya Rahane 😣#ENGvIND #IND #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/sGZy9ceRrr

— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) September 5, 2021

The batting coach's remarks indicate that Team India might be happy to stick with Ajinkya Rahane for the last Test in Manchester as well. This could mean players like Hanuma Vihari and Suryakumar Yadav might have to wait a bit longer for their red-ball chance.

Technique is last thing you should think about - Vikram Rathour on Ajinkya Rahane's issues

While England's bowlers have time and again exposed the chinks in the Indian batsmen's technique, Vikram Rathour asserted that his team isn't perturbed about that either. Rathour said for players like Ajinkya Rahane, the team's discussions are limited to game plans and mental preparation only.

"See, when you are playing such an important series, in conditions which are tough for batting, against such a disciplined bowling attack which has been bowling really well, as a batting unit, technique is the last thing you should be thinking [about]. This is a time where you should look at how the bowlers are doing, how it's [the ball] coming off the wicket and what your game plans are."

Rathour added:

"I don't think we are [worried] about technique at this stage at all. There's a time and place to work on that, I don't think it's mid-series or mid-game. If there are any issues, they can be addressed later when he [Rahane] has time. But at this point in time, all that's been discussed is game plans, how they'll approach the innings, and how they'll look to score runs."

It's Stumps on Day 4 of The Oval Test!England move to 77/0 after #TeamIndia secured a 367-run lead. #ENGvINDSee you all tomorrow for what could be a fascinating Day 5. Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/OOZebP60Bk pic.twitter.com/lP913ihEMd

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 5, 2021

The Oval Test is tantalizingly poised at the end of Day 4. With 291 runs still to be chased, India have the upper hand. But the hosts cannot be taken lightly as the pitch has only gotten better and they bat quite deep. Virat Kohli will hope for a quick few wickets on Monday morning, while England will once again look to Joe Root to either drop anchor or take them home.