By: BCCI
A lot of eyebrows were raised when Ajinkya Rahane did not feature in any of the two T20Is to be played in Dharamsala and Cuttack. After the washout at the final T20I in Eden Gardens, captain MS Dhoni did mention in the post-match presentation that he would have given Rahane a go in the game. T20Is aside, Rahane is definitely in the brisk scheme of things when it comes to the 50-over format. When asked about the permutation-combinations of the batting order, Dhoni made it clear that Rahane’s services were most useful at the top of the batting order. But then again, there would be a case of who would bat at the crucial no.6 & 7 positions after Dhoni has in the past expressed his desire to bat at the top with a lot more freedom.
“If you are talking about the No.6 or No.7 spot, you can’t really pick one depending on their T20 performance, because you don’t get to play the way you’re supposed to play in an ODI,” Dhoni said. “If you see in the last few series we have played, we always felt that Rahane is somebody who should bat more up the order. Batting down at 5,6 and 7 he will face more difficulties. We have seen he is more flamboyant and free when he bats up the order with a bit of field restrictions. Once he gets a good start, he capitalises in the middle overs too,” elaborated Dhoni.
When asked if Rahane could be asked to bat at no.4, Dhoni said, “Even to an extent, No.4 is quite low for him. I’ve always felt he is someone who should bat up the order. Opening is a slot that fits him really well. Also, it is slightly different for us. If you see First-class cricket, like Rohit – bats No. 4 or 3 or 5, but he opens while playing for India. There are a lot of individuals who have done that, if you see the history. Our openers, more often than not, are actually the ones who bat middle order in First-class cricket. It is slightly difficult for him (Rahane) as of now, especially if I am looking for somebody to bat at 5, 6 and 7. I don’t think he’s the person to bat there. His strength is more top of the order. Given a chance, we will try to feature him in the top three, but if not, he’ll find it difficult to feature.”
Dhoni was also of the view that newcomer Gurkeerat Singh could prove to be a handful batting lower down the order with his all-round capabilities to go along with it but would not feature him this early in the ODI series. “Gurkeerat is there but right now, he won’t get a chance, straight off in the first game. But he is definitely somebody who is good, can play the big shots and can contribute a bit with his off-spin bowling. It’s good to have people who are multi-talented, people like Raina who can bat but at the same time is a good fielder and can bowl. That gives us that extra opportunity, if somebody is having an off day, these are the ones who can contribute with two-three overs each, and that can have a big impact in the game. It’s good to have Gurkeerat in the side, but he’ll have to wait for his opportunity.”
The captain also hinted on picking up three spinners in the first ODI. “If you see, this is one venue we can. We will have a look at the pitch, how dry it is, and the chances of it breaking up and assisting the spinners. But definitely, with no dew, the three spinner option is available to us. Also we have to keep in mind that it is an early start. It is a venue we can look at going in with three spinners.”
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