Updated December 3rd, 2021 at 12:34 IST
'Well played BCCI': Fans poke fun at Team India as Aijnkya Rahane misses 2nd Test vs NZ
Ajinkya Rahane, India's vice-captain in the longest format, has been ruled out of the second Test match due to a minor left hamstring strain.
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Ajinkya Rahane, India's vice-captain in the longest format, has been ruled out of the second Test match vs New Zealand due to a minor left hamstring strain. According to a press release issued by the BCCI, Rahane had sustained the injury while fielding on the final day of the first Test match in Kanpur.
The BCCI said that Rahane's injury will be monitored closely by the medical team. Rahane's injury has made the Indian management's job easy with regards to the team selection for the second Test as it was being speculated before the game that the Indian vice-captain could be dropped because of his poor batting form.
Netizens have since taken to social media platform Twitter to share memes and jokes regarding Rahane's exclusion from the India vs New Zealand 2nd Test. Some people are even suggesting that BCCI has dropped Rahane due to his poor batting form and not because of an injury.
Question- How many pure batters have played more than 75 tests for India with an average worst than Ajinkya Rahane?
— Ricky talks Cricket (@CricRicky) November 22, 2021
Answer- Zero, Nil, Nada, Nadir, Cipher, Naught, Goose Egg https://t.co/fnbab2mAdT pic.twitter.com/B7tlgBuwkD
ICT causing a last minute niggle to Rahane https://t.co/0Cfk4XusjP pic.twitter.com/7VUdClZWBb
— President Misbah (@MisbahPresident) December 3, 2021
BCCI: Ajinkya Rahane is injured.
— Shridhar V (@iimcomic) December 3, 2021
Ajinkya: But I’m not.
BCCI: pic.twitter.com/ARX7mBOfKY
Fans to Ajinkya Rahane right now:- pic.twitter.com/v2Mep8Yqtc
— CRICKET VIDEOS 🏏 (@AbdullahNeaz) December 3, 2021
#Indian cricket fan's after Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma being dropped in the 2nd Test against #NewZealand #ViratKohli #INDvNZ #INDvsNZ #MumbaiTest
— Manoj Kumar (@ManojKu82371718) December 3, 2021
.@BCCI pic.twitter.com/wejxCP9MGS
BCCI - "Ajinkya Rahane is injured." pic.twitter.com/t2SNlz13k1
— .. (@etoveselo) December 3, 2021
In the 12 Test matches that Rahane has played in 2021, he averages less than 20, with no century to his name in the past year. Rahane's last Test century had come against Australia in the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in December 2020, where the Indian batter was made the stand-in captain in the absence of Kohli.
He led from the front to help India make an impressive comeback after a humiliating defeat in the first match of the same series. In the first Test match against New Zealand in Kanpur, Rahane scored 35 and 4 runs respectively in two innings, a below-par performance from a player of his calibre.
India have made three changes for the second Test match in Mumbai. Apart from Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma have also been rested due to injury concerns. Jayant Yadav and Mohammed Siraj have been included in the starting XI in place of Jadeja and Sharma. New Zealand have also made changes to their starting XI with skipper Kane Williamson out due to elbow injury and Daryl Mitchell included in his place.
India vs New Zealand: Playing XIs
India: Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand: Will Young, Tom Latham (capt), Daryl Mitchell, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Will Somerville, Ajaz Patel
Image: AP/@etoveselo/Twitter
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Published December 3rd, 2021 at 12:34 IST
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