A decade ago, Ajinkya Rahane was part of the under-15 National Cricket Academy camp at Bangalore. His approach to batting, and the way he carried himself on the field was so compact and disciplined that the batting coach at the academy, Parthasarathy Sharma, had said, “If this boy is nurtured properly, he will score a lot of runs for India. My only worry is what number he will bat at. He reads the movement of the new ball well, and on turners, he plays with soft hands.”
Sharma’s observation was a potential-filled question regarding a blooming young talent, but that question persists as a conundrum for the Indian selectors and the captain even today.
The all-round batting ability that Sharma saw in young Rahane is evidently developed now. Rahane assesses the situation and executes a plan to perfection in all the three formats of the game. For this reason, even his mentor Rahul Dravid seems confused regarding the best batting slot for Rahane. This confusion extends to captain M.S. Dhoni, too.
Who would have guessed that a player’s discipline, professionalism and versatility would be a source of worry?
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Makarand Waingankar However, with the season leading up to the T20 World championship, Rahane has an important role to play. One has only to look at his exploits in the IPL to know his value in the format.
This brings us to the issue of his place in the playing eleven in the shorter version of the game. All captains go by gut feeling. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s the job of the captain to act.
In Dhoni’s strategy, he is keen to bat higher up in T20s and ODIs so that he gets time to perform. He seems to have realised that his bat speed, timing, and movements are no longer the same. His helicopter shot too is missing.
The dilemma Dhoni faces, in T20s, is whether he should play Rahane; a specialist batsman who is a brilliant fielder too, or include Raina and Rayudu who double up as bowling options in the format.
It is true that initially Rahane found his stint in the IPL not fruitful. But his association with Rajasthan Royals, and in particular with Rahul Dravid who shaped his approach to the game, changed all that. He has not looked back since.
Regardless of the format, the ‘bits and pieces player’ theory is not working as some team managements had envisioned. You need specialists who can be used at any position.
Laying the foundation Opening the batting for Royals, through his clever stroke play and intelligent running between the wickets, Rahane has built crucial partnerships in the IPL which have proved to be the foundations for his team’s batting performances. This trait is repeatedly proving to be important in the T20 format, which is no longer a bang-bang game.
The selectors too, perhaps, concur with this point, which is why they had appointed him the captain of the team for the tour of Zimbabwe.
Dhoni not playing Rahane in T20s and asking him to bat at No. 6 in ODIs when the selectors have fast-tracked him is a clear indication that the selectors and Dhoni are not on the same page. This is a muddle the Indian team cannot afford to get caught up in, especially in World championship season.
In the late ’60s by blooding Gundappa Viswanath and Eknath Solkar, the chairman of the selection committee Vijay Merchant had proved that if youngsters are given a break at the right time, the team benefits. That policy changed the face of Indian cricket.
It’s time the National selection committee took a call on the future of the Indian team. Bold decisions have to be taken to ensure that contributions of young talented players aren’t wasted. A World championship is at stake.
