Opinion: Is it time for Rahane to make an ODI comeback?
Ajinkya Rahane
Since the last edition World Cup, team India has tried too many players at the 4th spot. First, it was Yuvraj Singh and then Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik and many more. But, no one has done anything to cement their place at number four spot.
The 4th spot is undoubtedly one of the important position in the batting order. He is the batsman who can bat according to the situations and accelerate the innings in the death overs.
But, the Indian team management is not giving enough changes to their players. They should give at least 5 innings to make them comfortable at that particular position. The Men in Blue will play 13 ODIs before facing South Africa first-up in the 2019 World Cup.
So, the team management should give a player long run at the number four spot. After a couple of failures from Manish Pandey and KL Rahul, India provided a chance to Dinesh Karthik. He has batted at two down during the Asia Cup. However, he failed to score big runs and has been dropped from the ODI squad for the Windies series.
If India really wants to win the next World Cup, they should find a reliable batsman to bat at number four. According to me, Ajinkya Rahane should get a chance again in ODIs to bat at the 4th spot. He is one of the few players who can construct the innings with the top order and launch an attack on the opponent bowling line-up in the final ten overs.
So far, he has scored 843 runs in the 25 ODI innings while playing at number four. He also has a decent average of 36.65 with a strike-rate of 83.71 in that position. He is the one who has an ability to adapt to any situation against any bowling attack.
We all know that India has tried so many players at this position since the last edition of World Cup and Rahane has been successful at number four as compared to his counterparts.
With the likes of KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey have failed to score at number four, the team management should give Rahane another chance. He can be vital to India's chances of winning the World Cup in 2019.