Anil Kumble reveals Ajinkya Rahane will be used at the top of the order for England ODI series
What’s the story?
Indian coach Anil Kumble is happy with the healthy competition for places in the current Indian side but admitted that Ajinkya Rahane will bat at the top of the order in the upcoming limited-overs series against England. With Rohit Sharma injured, India will be without their first-choice limited-overs opening pair but they have plenty of options.
Even with Rohit’s injury, India have Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, who can open the innings along with Ajinkya Rahane who has played as an opener in 42 of his 72 ODIs. With the likes of Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav in the side, it was always going to be difficult for Rahane to make it as a middle-order batsman.
Speaking about Rahane, Kumble said: "At this point of time, he [Rahane] is [being looked at as a top-order option only]. In the one-day format, I don't think there's a set batting order, so at this point in time, he's still batting at the top of the order.”
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In case you didn’t know...
As the captain of the India A side, Ajinkya Rahane scored 91 in the second warm-up match against England, which his side won by six wickets with 10.2 overs to spare. Although he has opened for the majority of his ODI career and showcased his pedigree as an opener in the IPL, the emergence of Rohit and Shikhar since the Champions Trophy 2013 has meant Rahane has been played in the middle-order of late.
Although Rahane doesn’t feature in the T20 squad for the series, Rohit’s injury might well mean that he gets another chance as an opener, the case of which was strengthened courtesy of his 83-ball 91 which helped India A cruise to victory.
The heart of the matter
The legendary Indian spinner didn’t give too much away about the composition of India’s team ahead of the first ODI against England but admitted that the addition of Yuvraj Singh and the healthy competition for places, especially in the middle-order is a happy headache to have.
The Indian coach was adamant that the side that will be chosen will depend largely on the surface that awaits them in Pune but was happy to admit that the options in the middle-order is a “good choice that we have in the squad”.
The 46-year-old, however, didn’t seem too keen on admitting whether Yuvraj, Pandey or Jadhav will make it into the squad. While he admitted that Yuvraj’s capabilities as a batsman and bowler is common knowledge, he added that the other two have also done well in the limited chances that they have got in the middle-order.
What next?
After beating England 4-0 in the Test series and winning one of the two warm-up matches, India go into the three-match ODI series against England that begins on January 15, high on confidence. The fact that several key players like Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane scored fifties in the warm-up matches will be a big boost to India as they play in their final 50-over series before the Champions Trophy in June.
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Sportskeeda’s take
Although Rahane has marginally better numbers in the middle-order for India in ODIs, as his performance in the second warm-up match showed, he is more suited to opening the innings in the shorter formats. His IPL pedigree is testament to that and with plenty of big-hitters already eyeing a spot in the middle-order, the move to have Rahane at the top of the innings, opening in Rohit Sharma’s absence looks to be the right one.