The Rahane conundrum: Why India must retain faith in Ajinkya for South Africa Tests

No player wants to be pigeonholed as a one format-specialist. Ask Suresh Raina on how he has missed playing Test cricket. Cheteshwar Pujara will explain the pangs of not being considered for selection in the limited-overs formats.

Ajinkya Rahane is one of the mainstays for India in Test cricket. However, he too has faced the pain of not being a regular in the limited-overs scheme of things during the course of his career. He desperately wanted to make a mark in ODIs. He practiced hard and made tiny adjustments in his game to suit the shorter formats of the game. It has paid rich dividends to a certain extent.

Having made his ODI debut against England at Chester-le-Street in 2011, Rahane's white-ball career never really took off. He has had more lean patches than purple patches in the 50-over format. He was initially criticized for his inability to rotate strike in middle overs. Thus far, the compact batsman has scored 2822 runs at an average of 35.27 and strike-rate of 78.71 with three centuries and 23 fifties.

In 2017, Rahane has made giant strides. He has scored 586 runs at a staggering average of 48.83. During this period, the Mumbaikar has hit a century and seven fifties. Even though he is still regarded as the third opener and gets chances when one of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan is unavailable, the elegant stroke-player has proved his skills in the 50-over format.

Apart from the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, Rahane has had an excellent time right throughout his Test career. The right-hander has amassed 2826 runs at an average of 44.15 with nine hundreds twelve fifties.

Arguably, he is India's best batsman outside the subcontinent. He averages 33.20 in England, 69.66 in South Africa, 54.00 in New Zealand and 121.50 in West Indies. However, his struggles on home conditions have been well-documented. He has scored 1009 runs at a not-so-impressive average of 33.63 in Tests on Indian soil.

The ongoing Sri Lanka series has been a shocking one for Rahane. Among all Indian players who took part in the series, he is the second lowest run-scorer (17 runs) and only above Umesh Yadav who made 6 not out in his only innings.

Rahane's stellar record against South Africa

With the South African series coming up, there are concerns over Rahane's form. However, numbers suggest that there may not be a compelling reason to start panicking. Unlike his team mates, he has always enjoyed swing and pace rather than spin.

In South Africa, he has scored 209 runs from four innings at a stunning average of 69.66. In his last Test there, he showed his class by registering 51 not out and 96. The fact that he scored those runs against the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel make the numbers pretty impressive.

Extra Cover: Examining Ajinkya Rahane's struggles on turning pitches

He is a unique batsman who has managed to lift his game against South Africa's potent pace attack. Unlike his struggles against other visitors on home soil, he has a solid record against the Proteas. The right-hander aggregated 266 runs at an average of 53.20 during the 2015 series. His twin hundreds in the Delhi Test were the only instances of batsmen reaching three figures.

Even his ODI numbers against SA are excellent. He has scored 334 runs at an average of 47.71. His strike-rate 98.23 is way better than his career strike-rate of 78.71.

When you go through a lean patch, everything seems to fall apart. The feet won't move and a struggle for timing ensues. Every top batsman goes through such a lean phase and what separates him from others is how quickly he bounces back from the difficult period. With India set for a challenging tour of South Africa, it is imperative that Rahane recaptures his form.