Great Innings ahead for Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane marked his test captaincy debut with a victory when India defeated Australia in the deciding Test match at Dharamshala recently, while captain Virat Kohli was sitting out unfit. Although this should secure his place in the regular Indian team for a long time, it has been a long wait for him to get a break. He had to warm the benches and carry drinks for 16 months after he was named in the Test squad in November 2011. Moreover, he had to watch seven players make their debuts ahead of him. Also, his performance in the limited overs games — ODIs and T20s — was not very encouraging.

Rahane made his Test debut as a player through sheer luck in 2013 against Australia in Delhi when Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir were both declared unfit. Two single-digit scores in the game had the critics baying for his blood, but the Indian cricket board reposed faith in him and gave him a second chance in the South Africa tour of 2013-14. This time, Rahane grabbed the opportunity, and made 209 runs at an average of 69.66 in the series against a bowling attack packed with the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in it. During his Ranji debut in the 2007-08 season, Rahane averaged 62.04 after 100 innings. He scored over 1000 runs three times in his first five seasons, which put the spotlight on him.

Stars confer a boon on Rahane
The Moon is placed with Mars in Ajinkya Rahane’s chart, which is a boon for a sportsman. It makes him a determined, firm and ferocious warrior. Also, Mars is placed with Rahu, giving him the subtle aggression which makes him capable of being victorious over any opponent. Moon-Mars and Rahu in Aquarius make his chart strong. With the victory over Australia as a stand-in captain, his confidence will get a huge boost and he will perform even better in the future.

Good leadership qualities
Venus placed with Mercury in the 5th house from natal Moon makes him a good athlete and provides him with marvelous flexibility and reflexes. Saturn aspecting Jupiter indicates his exceptional abilities to understand the different aspects of the game. Sun is in Taurus and Mars is aspecting it.

So he also has good leadership qualities, which he displayed in the Dharamshala Test match, becoming one of the few players to have won their debut Test as a captain.

Rahane will not be able to capitalise on good starts in IPL
The planetary influences during the IPL indicate that he will bat with perfect balance, accuracy in strokes, and good anticipation. He will make useful scores. However, he may not be able to convert good starts into big scores, and hence consistency can be a problem. Despite that he will remain a very important part of his IPL team.

Spectacular performances post-June 2017
Rahane might have some spectacular innings in international cricket after mid-June 2017. He might also help the Indian team to win some important matches with some superb performances in the later part of the year.

Injury scare
In the last quarter of 2017, Ganesha predicts that Rahane will be injury prone and may have to take extra care of his fitness. Apart from taking care of his diet and lifestyle, the athletic cricketer will also have to ensure that he exercises well off-field, and does not take too many risks on-field.

Big records between August And October 2017
The year 2017 promises to be a very introspective year for him. It will be a period of some pause and reflection between a very active cricketing career. He may create more records in the period between August and October 2017. A lot more responsibilities will come his way in the year ahead.