Why Ajinkya Rahane should be India's ODI opener

India’s Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli during a 2015 World Cup match

In Test matches, there is some amount of flexibility you get as batsmen in the middle order. There’s no scoreboard pressure, no pressure of limited overs, and you can bide your time to play big knocks. Therefore, Test match hundreds are used to judge a player’s capability at international level as even a number five or number seven batsmen can score a ton – a task Ajinkya Rahane has lived up to for India in recent overseas tours.

However, Rahane hasn’t been able to reproduce the same kind of impact in the one-day format. Despite all the success at the Test level, Rahane hasn’t had a good run in limited overs cricket in the last 18 months.

Many have talked about Rahane’s inability to construct innings, saying that is the reason why he has not been consistent in the one-day format.

However, the fact of the matter is that he has been grossly misused in limited overs cricket by the national team. It is easily observable that he is not comfortable at No.4 – his inability to respond to pressure situations, his difficulty in switching to the second gear in his game.

The advantages of having Rahane as opener

An ideal example would be the match against Bangladesh at Melbourne – where he wasn’t keeping the scoreboard busy and finding it difficult to accelerate. Once the pressure got to him, he mistimed a lofted shot of Taskin Ahmed and got dismissed. Even in the World Cup semi-final against Australia, Rahane was clearly uncomfortable not being able to cope up with the required run.rate which was continuously rising.

However, it’s unfair to blame Rahane for his inability to deliver in limited overs cricket. Each and every player has their own role and ability, and so is the case with Rahane. He is technically equipped to play the new ball and has shown his ability to construct innings at the top of the order.

The innings against England at Birmingham, and a hundred against Sri Lanka in the ODIs speaks about his ability to deliver at the top of the order. He also averages 40 in the opening slot in the last 12 months with five half-centuries and two centuries.

While these may not have come in overseas conditions, it is still good enough to prove that he can be good opener in ODIs – he struggled in home conditions as well in his first couple of years in international career. Rahane will be the ideal solution for India’s overseas problems in the opening combination.

Another aspect which makes Rahane’s promotion imperative is that Rohit Sharma hasn’t been able to click as an opener in overseas conditions. Sharma’s inability to rotate the strike in away conditions in turn creates additional pressure on Shikhar Dhawan to attack the bowlers. Dhawan’s performance, with Rahane at the other end, will only improve – and it is hoped this permanent solution is the one the Indian team resort to.