Can Ajinkya Rahane make it into the Indian ODI XI?

Can Ajinkya Rahane make it into the Indian ODI XI?: The hottest topic of discussion for the Indian ODI team in the recent times has been Ajinkya Rahane’s position in the final XI. Rahane, who has been a successful batsman for India in Tests but has faced tough times in retaining his spot in ODI Cricket which had brought out a criticism over Captain, MS Dhoni.

On the other hand, Rahane’s ODI record hasn’t been impressive. Given he is a natural opener in this format, batting in middle order didn’t help his numbers. With Dhoni willing to bat at No. 4 in 50 overs format, Rahane had to sit out.

Does Ajinkya Rahane deserve a place?

Without any doubt, Rahane is easily India’s finest batsman in terms of technique. But with an average of 31 after 57 matches isn’t something you would like to see. Rahane’s perfect position in ODIs is the opening spot. With both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma occupying the spots, Rahane has to bat at No. 4.

Rahane started off his career as an opener on a decent note, scoring 340 runs in 10 innings. However, the next 6 innings got him out of the team since could just score 64 runs, which includes a 47 which came on the slower side in a 330 run chase.

After Rahane was dropped in 2013, Rohit Sharma cashed on the opportunity along with Shikhar Dhawan and settled down as opening batsmen for India in ODIs since then. However, Rahane made most of the chances he got at top while Rohit got injured however, his scores were inconsistent.

In the 37 innings Rahane opened for India, he averaged 33.55; 2 runs more than his career average. While batting at 4, Rahane averages 28.8 in 16 innings. However, he is capable of playing some classical innings like his 79 against South Africa in World Cup 2015. But at the same time, his inability to rotate the strike could well put pressure on other batsman and unstable the innings. Hence, Rahane can remain as an opener in this format as he lacks hitting skills down the order.

Are current openers good enough?

Many have questions about Rohit and Dhawan’s ability and consistency at the top. However, their performances have proved the critics wrong. Dhawan top scored for India in both the ICC tournaments recently and has the best away average among Indians in last 2 years.

On other hand, Rohit Sharma has an average of 51 in last 2 years, the highest among Indian top order batsmen. Also, he has 19 fifty plus scores in 50 innings, scoring a fifty plus score every 2.63 innings, the best for any opener in ODIs after Dilshan (2.63) since Jan, 2013.

Comparison with Rohit Sharma’s career starting?

When talking about longer ropes and chances, Rohit Sharma comes first in anyone’s mind as the right handed batsman got a bit higher amount of opportunities before he succeeded as an opener in ODIs.

Here is a comparison table of what Rohit had done in ODI format at Rahane’s current position:

(Given Rohit Sharma played most of his ODI career before turning into an opener, we have adjusted both of their stats by excluding their instances of coming to bat after completion of 40 overs and instances where he was Not Out in single digits.)

The table insists both were at a similar position after 56 ODI innings with Rohit having a better average and strike rate than Rahane.

Options for middle order?

With Rahane out of team, MS Dhoni now gets an opportunity to bat at No. 4 where he averages 68.4 in the 20 innings he batted with a strike rate nearly 100.

As a result, Ambati Rayudu makes it into the XI batting at No. 5 or No. 6. Rayudu, so far has a good record in ODIs averaging 45.33 in the 28 innings he has played, which makes it tough to put him out of the team. However, his strike rate has been similar to that of Rahane but Rayudu’s hitting ability which was seen in domestic circuit helped him to feature in the XI ahead of others.

Rayudu, who had been brilliant against spin, turns out very ordinary against pacers. It is up to the team management to see beyond Rayudu in case of his failures and bring in someone else who can be a power hitter down the order along with Suresh Raina.

Solution for Ajinkya Rahane to be in India ODI XI?

Ahead of 1st ODI against South Africa, MS Dhoni made a statement that playing Rahane at No. 4 is too low, and the proper position for Rahane is in top 3.

With Rohit and Dhawan in form, Dhoni will not be risking to keep either of the two out. And it depends upon Virat Kohli to give his No. 3 spot, where he had scored loads of runs.

Hence, we might not see Rahane in ODIs unless one of the openers failing (or gets injured) or Kohli agrees to play according to the team balance.