Ajinkya Rahane, an Indian batter, received advice from Steve Waugh prior to the 2020–21 Border–Gavaskar Trophy, according to former Australia coach Justin Langer. Langer recalled that Waugh had called him to let him know that he had been coaching Rahane while commentating on Day 3 of the ICC World Test Championship final.
Rahane, who was benched for the home series against Sri Lanka in March 2022, made an incredible comeback to the Indian Test team. He struck 89 in Day 3 of the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval, his first international game since that time. In an otherwise worrying performance for the Indian side in London, Rahane’s knock helped the team avoid follow-on.
The 52-year-old said that Waugh confided in him and acknowledged that he was often mentoring the India batter as well as talking to him. Notably, Rahane’s century during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne inspired India to a stunning series comeback.
Langer Said
“Before the series started Steve Waugh, my hero, he rang me and said I was going to be transparent. I wanna be honest I’m having some conversations with Rahane…doing a bit of mentoring him leading to that series. Not Steve Waugh, the iceman and we saw that calmness in Rahane, we saw the way he played in that series and when I knew he was talking to Steve, it was red flags for me,” Langer told on Star Sports.
Rahane, in the meantime, amassed 89 runs off 129 balls while hitting 11 fours and a six. On Days 2 and 3 of the WTC Final, the senior Indian batter also had head and finger injuries. In January 2022, Rahane was removed from the Indian team because to some below-par performances; he had only been included due to injuries to Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer.
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