Should Ajinkya Rahane be dropped from the Indian team?

Ajinkya Rahane, the stylish right-handed batsman from Mumbai, has yet again had another disappointing series with the bat. He struggled for form in the series against Australia where India created history by winning for the first time Down Under in 71 years, having first toured the country in 1947-48.

Rahane, once touted as India’s best overseas batsman ahead of Virat Kohli, has been distinctly average this year. He has made very few valuable contributions over the past two years, and has failed to be the reliable presence in the middle order that his team needed him to be.

Rahane had a dismal outing earlier this year at England, scoring 257 runs at a below-par average of 25.7. His last 100 came way back in early 2017 against Sri Lanka. He has one hundred in his last 46 innings, and his record even before that 100 wasn’t praiseworthy. His average has come down to as low as 40, and the percentage in India drops down even further to 34.

These numbers are shocking because this is the same person who had begun his career with scintillating knocks at Lord's, Melbourne and Wellington in 2014. Rahane was even considered to be more technically sound than the Indian captain Virat Kohli, and was expected to be the next big thing in world cricket.

However, things haven’t been smooth for the Mumbai lad in the recent past. He was even dropped from the ODI setup post the 2015 World Cup.

"He needs pace. We have seen that he plays a lot better on pitches that have pace. But on a slow pitch, whenever he has batted at No. 4 or 5, he does have a problem in freely rotating the strike at the start of the innings. I think Ajinkya will have to wait,” MS Dhoni had remarked after Rahane's expulsion from the side post the 2015 World Cup.

Come 2016, the Indian vice-captain’s performance levels dropped even further as he failed to make any significant contributions in the 2016-17 home season. His average was as low as 12.60 in the home series against England where India won 4-0.

2018 has been equally bad with Rahane not performing up to the expectations. But I still don't think he should be dropped from the team right away; he is too good a player to be left out.

That said, it’s time the team management clearly spell out their expectations from him and make sure he is in the right mental space going forward. Rahane could also be stripped from his vice-captaincy duties, and be asked to concentrate on his batting alone. Maybe the baton can be passed to someone else in the team, so that Rahane can play without clouding his mind with other things.

Rahane should also be asked to take part in the Ranji Trophy instead of preparing for the 2019 World Cup or trying to get back into the limited overs team. It's time Rahane puts an end to his limited overs career and focuses solely on the red ball format like his comrade from Saurashtra, Cheteshwar Pujara.

Taking a break from the white ball formats will even give Rahane a chance to explore his game, and perhaps take an active part in the Ranji Trophy as well as England’s county season.

The upcoming home series in 2019 will be critical from Rahane’s Test future point of view. If the Mumbai lad doesn’t perform up to expectations, it would be tough to hold on to him - especially considering there are several young talents knocking on the door.