Team India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane on Friday dismissed comments on the captaincy of Virat Kohli and firmly reiterated that he is the skipper of the Indian team and will remain so.
His comments were in the context of people talking about a drop in body language of Team India players in the first Test against England in Chennai that the hosts went on to lose by 227 runs. Virat Kohli had taken over the team after Rahane led India to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy win in Australia.
He also hit back at the media persons saying that if they were looking for ‘masala’ in his comments on Virat Kohli, they will not get it from him.
"Yes, it's true, sometimes players don't have energy on the field (on Virat Kohli's comment at the end of the first Test). It's not because the captain changed. If you're looking for masala, you're not going to get it here,” Ajinkya Rahane said while speaking in the press conference ahead of 2nd Test vs England.
Rahane also added that he was not particularly concerned about his form and said that the focus is always on the team not on any particular individual.
"We are playing at home after two years. It's all about the team, not about any individual. If you look at my last 10-15 Tests, you will find some runs there," Rahane added.
Rahane did not reveal the playing XI for the second Test against England but said that Axar Patel's fitness was good for the team.
"Every player is in the mix. Good to have Axar Patel fit. I'm not going to say who is going to play in the second Test. All our spinners are good and I'm sure they're keen to do well," he added.