India’s premier opening batsman Rohit Sharma recently let his thoughts about Rahane’s place in the team out in the open. The Indian team has been in fantastic form off late and despite performing superbly, Rahane has found himself sidelined because of the form of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit.
The team has managed to win all the series it has played this year barring the Champions Trophy, which they lost in the final to Pakistan.
Bench strength has been immense for India with players performing despite not being usual starters. One such instance has been Ajinkya Rahane, who has performed superbly but has still not been able to cement his spot. In the Australia Tour, Rahane made 4 fifties in 5 matches to show that he was really waiting for an opportunity to show his skill.
Don’t know where his position is:
Back in the squad against New Zealand, it will be interesting to see how India manages to keep him in the team. Rohit Sharma at least, has no clue and that decision is entirely up to the captain and the coach.
When asked about this, Sharma responded by saying, ““See, I have no idea about that where he (Rahane) will be batting, yes Shikhar (Dhawan) is back, but speaking of Rahane he is probably grabbed all his opportunities in the last few series that he has played, now it’s on the captain and the coach, what they want and where they want him to bat especially, a couple of series back the captain came and spoke about that he considered him as a opening batsman and I don’t know if he (the captain) wants him to bat at four again , that will be completely his call, if he feels that we need someone like Rahane batting at four in this particular team right now, I don’t know if that will happen, it is very unclear, we have to wait and see.”
Important to continuously perform:
Rohit also said that it was important that all players were on their toes and no complacency set in. He credited his Mumbai teammate for playing so well despite his uncertainty in the team. He said that whatever limited opportunities presented itself to Rahane, he had taken them up. It was an indicator of the strength of the team and that anyone can come any time and take up a position.
