Ajinkya Rahane speaks about captaincy and upcoming England series

What's the story?

As India gear up for the one-off Test against newly appointed Test nation, Afghanistan, stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane opened up about his role as the skipper for the side.

"I'm looking forward to it. After the IPL, it's almost like a start of a season, so there is so much to look forward to. There are processes to be put in place on the personal front, responsibilities to be carried out (as captain in the one-off game)," he said in an interview with The Times of India.

In case you didn't know...

Rahane will be leading the side in the absence of skipper Virat Kohli, who at first, was supposed to be in England for his county stint with Surrey, however, he suffered an injury a few weeks ago, which ruled him out of action. He will return for the series against England now.

Along with Kohli missing out, Wriddhiman Saha, too, was ruled out after suffering an injury. Dinesh Karthik was named as his replacement. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were not named in the side and in their place, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav were given the nod.

The details

With the all-important series against England coming up in a month's time, Rahane opened up about that as well.

"When you play overseas, it's that attitude which matters, more than your skills. Skill-wise, most cricketers are more or less similar. What probably adds notches to a team's overall performance is the intent with which you approach a game," he said.

What's next?

This will be Afghanistan's first ever international Test after achieving the status of a Test playing nation a few months ago. The one-off Test will take place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from June 14-18.

Do you think Rahane will lead India to success in the one-off Test? Have your say in the comment section below