Where should Ajinkya Rahane feature in the Indian T20 and ODI teams?

Rahane has a better average batting as an opener than at any other position

Ajinkya Rahane has been India’s go-to man in recent times. With a prolific record in Test matches, Rahane oozes confidence and determination. He has scored 1353 runs from 18 matches at a solid average of 43.64, with all but one match being played away from home. All his four centuries have come outside India – a sign that he is one of India’s most reliable and promising players in overseas conditions.

Rahane thus has a stronghold over his position in the Test squad owing to his calculative and well-constructed method of play. But his spot in the ODIs and T20Is has been highly speculative and inconsistent. Getting an opportunity in ODIs or T20Is has been quite a roller-coaster ride for the star batsman, and several questions have been raised about his non-inclusion at times.

To paint a better picture of why Rahane is not being considered in the ODIs, here’s a look at his records in various batting positions -

Rahane's performance in various batting positions

Position	Matches	Runs	High Score	Average	Strike Rate
No. 1	21	830	111	41.50	79.88
No. 2	16	378	91	23.62	73.68
No. 3	3	65	50	21.66	67.70
No. 4	16	432	79	28.80	74.61

The numbers indicate that he is the strongest bet as an opener. But with the Indian team already having a solid opening combo of Dhawan and Rohit, it would be tough to move one of them down the order to accommodate Rahane at the top.

Rahane would most likely get a slot at Number 4, but his record – especially his strike rate – is not great at that position. With the Number 4 batsman required to display some power-hitting to boost the team’s score and set the stage for the finishers, Rahane’s strike rate of 74.61 does not augur well with the requirement.

India – a batsman-producing factory – has always managed to find someone or the other (such as Rayudu or Raina) who have a better strike rate than Rahane, to fit into the role.

Hence, unless Rahane finds a way to be more productive in the middle overs while batting at Number 4, he would constantly be overlooked by the team management as far as the ODI line-up is considered. Another option which validates his selection would be to move Rohit down to Number 4 or 5 and bring in Rahane as the opener.

Taking a look at Rahane’s position in the T20I line-up, he has only played 13 matches so far, capturing the opener’s slot in all of them. He has scored 273 runs at an average of 21.00. His strike rate of 116.17 indicates that he is the ideal opener for India in T20Is, who not only makes every ball count but also sets a solid platform by building a quick innings.

His performance in the recently concluded IPL is also reason enough to dismiss all doubts regarding his capabilities of scoring quickfire runs in the limited overs edition. Playing 122 T20 matches, Rahane has amassed 3100 runs at an average of 29.80. With 24 fifties and one century, all at strike rates exceeding 110, Rahane comes across as a rock-solid opener in T20s.

But similar to the ODIs, the opener’s slots in T20Is have also been grabbed by Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, both of whom do not show signs of any weakness in form, that would prompt selectors to choose Rahane ahead of one of them.

All said and done, when it comes to consistency, Rahane has time and again outshone the other two openers. Even in the department of fielding, he has been one of India’s most agile and prominent fielders, especially in the currently worrisome slip corridor of India. This necessitates his inclusion to some extent.

Roping in Rahane as an opener in both limited-overs forms of the game, and sliding down Rohit to middle order would stabilize the opening partnership in the long run, which would also help the rest of the team to put up a strong score consistently. With the Indian line-up suffering several batting collapses in recent times, this would be a worthwhile option to consider.

Would the selectors contemplate shuffling the batting line-up to have batsmen at their optimal positions? This remains to be seen in the forthcoming matches.