Former Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane revealed he made a brave face to bluff everyone when he took over the captaincy from Virat Kohli in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.
India lost the opening Test match at Adelaide under Kohli’s captaincy after they were bowled out for a paltry score of 36 runs. Kohli had to leave the tour because of the birth of his first child and thus Rahane took over from the regular captain.
However, Rahane led from the front and scored a majestic century at the MCG to help India draw level in the series. The visitors then went on win the historic Test match at the Gabba to win the series by 2-1.
Rahane said via NDTV, “I remember one thought in my head about when we lost the game in Adelaide, and then everyone started talking about that ‘India will probably lose 4-0’, and ‘there’s no chance for the Indian team ‘. I was nervous, frankly. I’ll be really honest. But as a sportsman, you get to learn so many things, and the most important learning, and the most important thing for me, was to bluff in front of my teammates, bluff in front of the Aussies, and bluff in front of the media.”
Rahane said he told his teammates to not think about the outcome and just focus on the process.
“I remember talking to my teammates, and I said, ‘Oh, we are the lucky ones to be here representing our country. There are so many guys wanting to play for India, but at times, luck plays a massive part in our careers’. Let’s forget about the result and the outcome; whatever happens, day four, day five, we will take it. I will take all the responsibility, but let’s enjoy the game and play for each other. It was indeed very special, the Australia tour, for everyone, not just for us the players, but also for the whole nation,” recalled Rahane (via the aforementioned source).
Rahane recently announced his retirement after IPL 2026.
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