Many options to choose from - Suresh Raina says replacing Rohit Sharma not a problem for India
With Rohit Sharma ruled out of the ODI series in England due to a finger injury, India will have to select a replacement for him at the top of the order today in the 3rd ODI at Birmingham.
Man of the Match in the previous match, Suresh Raina is not worried about the replacements, and said that the team has many options for the opening slot.
“Opening in England is always a difficult job and unfortunately Rohit has got injured. But we have a lot of youngsters and options to choose from,” Raina said.
“Sanju Samson is here and we also have Ambati Rayudu, and we have Murali Vijay coming. He is a Test specialist, but he has done well in ODIs and the IPL. We are looking to be positive and do what we can do on the field. We will discuss in the team-meeting and decide who will open the batting,” he added.
Murali Vijay, the regular opener in Tests, has been drafted as Rohit’s replacement, but there are other options in the current squad which MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher could consider.
Ajinkya Rahane
Accustomed to bat at the top of the order in domestic cricket, Ajinkya Rahane is the first choice for the opening slot. The batsman has been slotted in the middle order recently, but is equally adept at opening for India. In fact, Rahane has played 20 of his 31 ODIs as an opener.
In fact, the 26-year-old made his debut in England in 2011 as an opener. In 5 ODIs in that series, he scored 40, 54, 0, 38 and 26, showing good enough technique to cope with the moving ball on his first tour in international cricket. In the ODI series agains Bangladesh a couple of months earlier, when the seniors were rested, he again opened the batting for India, scoring 64, 0 and 3 in three matches.
Virat Kohli
However, if India prefer to keep Rahane in the middle order, Kohli is another option who can open the batting. Like Rahane, he made his debut as an opener in Sri Lanka in 2008. After that series though, he’s batted in that position only once, in the ODI at Hamilton against New Zealand earlier this year, where he made just 2.
In 6 matches, Kohli’s average as an opener is 26.83, almost half his career average of 51.68. Furthermore, his recent failures in England may also prove it too risky an option to push him to the opening slot. After a horrid Test series, Kohli failed to score in the ODI at Cardiff, getting out for a first ball duck.
In case either Rahane or Kohli are drafted in as openers, either Ambati Rayudu or Sanju Samson can take the vacant position in the middle order, with Rayudu looking the favourite to get the opportunity.