The Ajinkya Rahane conundrum

They spoke about Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh not making the cut for the Champions Trophy squad. They spoke about Irfan Pathan’s comeback. One man slipped under the radar again. If he hadn’t chosen to become a cricketer, he would have a good fighter-jet pilot. Not picking Ajinkya Rahane has got to be one of the more bizarre selections made by this panel. While not quite ‘Srikkanthesque’ in its absurdity, it certainly isn’t one of their brighter decisions.

Rahane is fast becoming the almost-man of Indian cricket. He’s churned out runs consistently at the first class level, averaging 60 with 19 centuries. His List-A average is a tick over 36, with a highest score of 187. I only mention these numbers because they are irrefutable proof of the fact that he is a quality player. A tally of more than 5,000 first class runs by a man not yet 25 has to count for something.

Now, some will argue that domestic pitches are actually prepared by road contractors; after all, Ravindra Jadeja has scored 3 first class triple-centuries. That may be true, but there’s something about the way Rahane plays. Anybody who saw him lace 61 on his T20 debut against England on a lively Old Trafford wicket would not dispute the fact that he belongs at the highest level. Too bad he doesn’t get a decent run to prove just that.

A variety of reasons have been given for him not getting an extended run – settled opening combination, too many batting options, doesn’t warm the bench in the right manner. I’m almost sure that the last one isn’t true. But there’s a chance that it might be, given all the time he’s spent on it. He was a reserve batsman in Australia, for the home series against New Zealand, for the home series against England and Australia. When he was one of 6 batting options for the last Test against England, they went ahead and picked Jadeja, he of 3 first class triple centuries and not even half the batting pedigree Rahane possesses.

My favourite Rahane excuse has to be this; the selectors don’t know whether to view him as an opening option or middle order batsman. Whose fault is that? Most certainly not his; he has batted in the middle order and opened for Mumbai successfully. Maybe they want him to bowl pace as well. That should get him picked.

Critics will point to the fact that he recently played a few ODIs against Pakistan and England without making the world sit up and take notice. The operative word here is ‘few’. Yes, he only had one good score in 4 innings, but dropping him, then picking him for a few games, and dropping him again, won’t do him any good. It’s not as though he hasn’t scored at this level before. He does have 3 international half centuries to his credit. Not everyone takes to international cricket like a Michael Hussey, but Rahane hasn’t done a Marvan Atapattu either. There has to be continuity in selection, otherwise you’re just doing the same thing England’s selectors did in the 1990s, part of the reason Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick had unfulfilled careers.

It’s not like the squad is overflowing with batting options; they have only picked five specialist batsmen and two keeper-batsmen. Three of them are making comebacks to the ODI team. Out of the seven batting options, only three – Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli – have been regular members of the set-up. It was every bit a free-for-all selection. Shouldn’t young players get an extended run, especially if the selectors considered that same player good enough to be in the team for the last limited overs assignment?

Rahane has the technique to do well on seaming pitches; in fact, he was one of the few batsmen to return from England in 2011 with his reputation enhanced. This squad was obviously selected keeping the 2015 World Cup in mind; the very fact that Rahane has been part of various squads over the last 18-odd months indicates that the selectors view him as one for the future. With all this chopping and changing, India could almost be Pakistan.

Rahane manages to look good and score quickly in the IPL. He looks a civilized batsman in an uncivilized world. Against quality international bowlers too. Sometimes, you need to pick young players on the basis of the ‘it’ factor. And Rahane certainly does have that – he drives with a certain finesse, cuts with impunity and punches with authority.

I recall a certain Mumbai batsman getting a very, very, very long rope on the basis of his perceived ‘potential’. While I agree with that, what I don’t agree with is the same standard not being applied here.