Ajinkya Rahane: Not an ODI Regular?

Is Ajinkya Rahane an ODI regular? You might have been tempted to say yes sometime back, but after the second ODI against Bangladesh, it is clear he is not. (India in Bangladesh: Full Coverage)

 

Rahane managed to make just nine in India's 79-run loss to Bangladesh in the first ODI in Mirpur, but if you thought that was the reason why he was dropped for the second ODI, which India lost by 6 wickets, think again. (Dhoni Offers to Quit Captaincy After Series Loss vs Bangladesh)

Indian ODI captain MS Dhoni told the media, "He (Rahane) needs pace. We have seen that he plays a lot better on pitches which are faster. Whenever he has played for us, whether at Numbers 4 or 5, if the pitch is a little slow, he finds it a little difficult to rotate the strike, especially when he is starting his innings. It's not easy. Ajinkya will have to wait."

Rahane is a specialist opener. The openers' slots in the ODI team are booked by Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. The team's assessment of Rahane seems to clearly suggest that he might not be the first choice for the Number 4 position in the subcontinent, but not everyone buys the argument that Rahane does not score quickly enough in the middle order. NDTV cricket expert Sunil Gavaskar said, "I don't know how many matches he has played in recent times in the subcontinent. I don't think India has played a lot over the last couple of years in the subcontinent, so I don't know where they have got that."

A quick look at the statistics shows that there isn't really that big a difference in Rahane's performances in the subcontinent and outside it over the last two years.

Since January 2013, Rahane has played 20 ODIs in the subcontinent at an average of 29 and a strike rate of 77. In the same period his average outside the subcontinent in 23 ODIs is 33, at the same strike rate.

Rahane went into the series against Bangladesh as the second highest run-getter in this year's IPL. He had an average of just below 50 and a strike rate of 131. Clearly, subcontinental pitches don't really seem to slow him down. While most cricket experts and fans were surprised with the decision to drop Rahane, with twitter abuzz with Dhoni's call to bench him, some backed the skipper's decision.

Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted to say,"Didn't expect Dhoni to make 3 changes, but agree with all the 3 changes. Rahane & Umesh are droppable in one-dayers."

India's new mantra is aggression. Rahane's overall career strike rate is 77. Does Rahane not make the cut in the aggression department then? Is that why he is not being considered an ODI regular?

 

His 79 off 60 balls, at a strike rate of 131 vs South Africa in the 2015 ICC World Cup was his quickest ODI innings.  

Rahane is after all an opener trying to fit into the middle order. He has the talent, but by the looks of it, he needs to find that next gear in his batting to cement a place in the ODI side.