21 February,2017 10:08 AM IST | | Shreeram Gokhale
Every time the Australians are involved in a cricket series, home or away, sledging becomes one of the biggest talking points. And it's no different with just three days to go for the first Test between India and Australia at the MCA Stadium here
Pune: Every time the Australians are involved in a cricket series, home or away, sledging becomes one of the biggest talking points. And it's no different with just three days to go for the first Test between India and Australia at the MCA Stadium here.
Australian skipper Steven Smith has already gone on record saying he won't hold back any of his team members from having 'a chat' with the opposition, if it works for them.
When asked about the sledging part, Ajinkya Rahane reveals how the Indian team will deal with it.
"We don't know whether they will sledge or not. For us, we have a plan for everything against them. We cannot reveal what the plan is - whether skill-wise or sledging-wise," Rahane said yesterday.
The current crop of Indian players are known for not holding back when it comes to sledging, R Ashwin having a long "walk the talk" with James Anderson in Mumbai couple of months back being a prime example.
While Rahane didn't directly say that the Indians would use the banter, he gave enough hints to suggest that Virat Kohli and his boys won't mind doing so. "Let them do whatever they want to on the field. Our objective will be to dominate them in every aspect on the field," Rahane added.
Rahane said the 82 he scored in the one-off Test against Bangladesh was crucial. "That innings was important for me. I was excited about that Test match, coming back after two months."
