Should Ajinkya B. Rahane be dropped from the Indian team?

Ajinkya B. Rahane should not be dropped from Indian team. He is a class player. And you know - form is temporary but class is permanent. Right now, he is one of the best Technically strong batsmen in Indian Cricket team like Murali Vijay or Virat Kohli or Pujara.

Rahane is well skilled world class batsman. He earned his position & respect in Indian cricket team by his performances. He is currently one of the best test batsman in World cricket. He has performed so well in overseas conditions in Test matches and that’s why he is the Vice captain of the Test team. Even he captained the only test against Australia so well in absence of Virat Kohli. He is a consistent player and a player who can hit big centuries and can rescue team from difficult situations in overseas.

Now look at the stats of Rahane in Tests (courtesy: howstat.com) :-

Yes, he should improve his Test stats in Home ground. He has some weak points against off spin, he should overcome that.

In ODI/T20, Rahane didn’t get much opportunity to explore himself. He is mainly an opening batsman in limited overs’ cricket. If you look at his IPL stats, you will understand he is a decent batsman in opening position in limited overs’ game.

In IPL as a opener he has scored as an average of 36 with 121 strike rate. He also has a century. So there is no doubt he is a good opening batsman, but although he can’t hit big shots/ long sixes , that’s his limitation. Unfortunately, Indian team has amazing opening options like Rohit Sharma/ Shikhar Dhawan. And in one down, there is Virat Kohli. In middle order, Rahane can’t fit because he can’t rotate strike easily or hit biggies. Hence, Rahane’s difficulty in cementing his place in the ODI team. That’s why right now he is the 3rd opening option for the team.

Now, look at some facts about Rahane that why should he play in Indian team:

• Every cricket team must has a player in Tests who scores with amazing consistency like Rahane, even in Overseas condition.
• After 10 Tests, Rahane had scored more centuries than what Tendulkar, Dravid or Laxman had at the same stage.
• He is the only player to have a score of 90 or more runs in eight consecutive Test series.
• He already has three centuries in Tests outside Asia at No 5 batting position – the joint highest by an India batsman, alongside Umrigar, Azharuddin, Tendulkar and Ganguly.
• At present, he is among the best in the world in away Tests (Last 3 years):

Virat Kohli - 21 Tests, 1810 runs, 50.27 average, 8 hundreds

Steve Smith- 21 Tests, 1978 runs, 58.17 average, 7 hundreds

Williamson- 16 Tests, 1694 runs, 67.76 average, 7 hundreds

A. Rahane- 21 Tests, 1588 runs, 51.22 average, 5 hundreds

• He is the fifth Indian with two centuries in a single test. Others are Vijay Hazare (once), Gavaskar (thrice), Dravid (twice) and Kohli (once)
• He is also an excellent fielder and slip catcher with a world record 8 catches in a single Test to his name.
• In ODIs, his weaknesses are his inability to rotate strike on difficult pitches, accelerating and hitting sixes. That’s why, he is not suitable in Middle order. He is useful but best suited to be an opener, as an opener he is not bad (Avg 33, SR 77) with 3 centuries & 2 MoS awards as well.

To sum it up - Rahane is a perfect middle order batsman in Tests and a candidate for opener/top order batsman in ODIs till he upgrades his skills & ability to strike big.