SA vs IND: Zaheer Khan shared some tips for Ajinkya Rahane amid poor form.© AFP
Former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan weighed in on the issue of Ajinkya Rahane’s poor run of form and shared some advice ahead of a crucial three-match Test series against South Africa beginning December 26. Zaheer said that having a belief that a player is just “one good knock away” from regaining form was the right kind of mentality to have going into an important series. Zaheer advised Rahane to take the challenges “head-on” and focus on improving with each game.
Talking to The Times of India, Zaheer stressed on the aspect of “mental toughness” for a player who has been under “immense pressure” to score runs.
“There have been mixed performances for Ajinkya Rahane. There is no doubt about it. He is under immense pressure. That is the fact. For any cricketer, to go through this kind of phase, you’ve got to have that mental toughness to come out of it. The good part is that you are still there and you are one inning away. As a batsman or cricketer, you should have such a belief,” he said.
Zaheer spoke through “personal experience” and how one good outing in a match could change the fortunes for a player in the long run.
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“Through my personal experience, if someone is going through a rough patch, you’ve got to have that belief that you are just one inning or one good knock away from that good performance. If you hit that, things change very fast as well. This is what I would advise Ajinkya at this stage. As a cricketer, you need to accept these challenges and take them head-on,” he added.
The first Test will be played from December 26 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.
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