Ajinkya Rahane sets own rules

“I am pretty much confident about myself. I have got my own ideas for the team and my own rules about my captaincy for the team. I will back my instinct on this tour and as far as I am concerned, as a unit we will give our best.” Having previously captained Mumbai on just two occasions — in a List A game and a T20 outing — Rahane said he had picked up nuggets from his more accomplished seniors.

“I have learnt from all the captains I have played under. I will try to imbibe some of the calmness on the field from Dhoni bhai and from Rahul bhai’s simplicity has impressed me. Steven Smith is an instinctive captain and he reacts according to the situation.”

The 27-year-old said that getting dropped in Bangladesh won’t have any bearing on the upcoming tour. “Dhoni bhai gave me feedback and I took it in a positive manner and I have moved on. The Bangladesh tour is past for me. My aim is to be more consistent in ODIs as it’s all in the mind.”

In the absence of a head coach, the Indian team will rely heavily on the support staff comprising Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R. Sridhar to help them prepare and adjust to the new ODI rules. The young captain said he was willing to give time to adjust to the format.

Rahane, who will be the sixth Mumbaikar to lead a national side, said the Zimbabwe tour was an ideal opportunity to impress the selectors.

“It is a good chance for all the youngsters to express themselves at the international level. All the players who have been selected for this tour did pretty well in the IPL as well as in domestic cricket. I am pretty confident about this bunch of guys that whoever gets the opportunity will do well.”

Asked if he would open the innings with Murali Vijay or let Karnataka’s Robin Uthappa do the job, Rahane, who has opened for Mumbai on previous occasions, said the decision will be taken once the team reach Harare, the venue for three ODIs and two T20s.