Xtra Time Web Desk: India test team vice captain Ajinkya Rahane has offered his batting tips to Mithali Raj and her team ahead of their one off test against England which starts from June 16 at Bristol. Playing close to the body, working on mindset and setting small targets are some of tips that Indian men’s Test team vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane gave to Mithali Raj & Co.
According to sources in the know of developments, Rahane, a Test specialist with 73 games and over 4500 runs under his belt, was requested by women’s team head coach Ramesh Powar for a session, primarily with the batters before they left for England.
“Ramesh and Ajinkya have been teammates. Since our girls are playing Test match after seven years, the coach thought that it would be a good idea to have a session where one of the best in the business will talk about Test match batting.
“It was a 50-minute zoom session that was arranged when both teams were in quarantine in Mumbai,” a senior official privy to the development told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
It is learnt that skipper Mithali, her deputy Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and all the batters, along with senior pacer Shikha Pandey, spoke to Rahane about the long-form batting.
In India also, there has only been 50 and T20 national competitions for the past few years.
“Apparently, Ajinkya told them not to play the drive too much during the initial part of the innings as the ball moves around a lot in the UK.
He told the batters to concentrate on playing as close to the body as possible.
With Inputs from PTI