Former cricketers in favour of promoting right-hander up the order
Ajinkya Rahane hits a shot watched by England test debutant wicketkeeper Jos Buttler during the fourth day of the third cricket test match. (Photo: AP)
Mumbai: Before the Indian team arrived in England, Sanjay Manjrekar, former India cricketer and a shrewd reader of the game, expected Virat Kohli to score three hundreds in the ongoing five-match Test series.
While the prediction might have been bold considering England had top class new ball bowlers in Stuart Broad and James Anderson, Manjrekar’s expectations were not completely misplaced as the consistent batsman had proved himself in overseas conditions.
Before Kohli’s harrowing run in the ongoing series, where he averages just 13.80 from four matches, scoring only 108 runs, the right-hander had notched up a Test ton each in his last three overseas tours of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
The combined failures of Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli coupled with Indian openers’ inability to forge a big partnership have meant India barring the first Test have not crossed the 350-mark even once in the last three games.
With just Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane showing spark in the batting line-up, India need to make sure they have the right combination in the must win Test at The Oval to level the series 2-2.
With no immediate replacements in sight, India can make subtle changes by sending Rahane at No. 4 and pushing Kohli down at fifth. Originally a top-order batsman, Rahane has been batting in the middle-order since Pujara and Kohli looked settled at No. 3 and 4 respectively.
“Rahane has looked confident in the ongoing series. I think he can move up a place because he is in good rhythm at the moment,” believed India ‘A’ coach Lalchand Rajput.
While it appears that Rahane’s role in the team is to negotiate the second new ball, he has seldom done that in the series since the first new ball has caused most damage. Kohli, who has been struggling outside off has been dismissed by Anderson four times in 30 balls.
On the other hand, Rahane has scored 59 runs off 118 balls bowled by Anderson with one dismissal.
Former India Test batsman Dilip Vengsarkar, who succeeded in English conditions, felt Rahane should be given more responsibility.
“I think it is a good suggestion to send Rahane up the order. If Rahane opens with Murali Vijay, we will have two solid openers. Rohit Sharma can bat in the middle-order and we will have a strong line-up,” Vengsarkar said.
Praveen Amre, who has closely worked with Rahane on his batting ,said it is the decision best left to the team management.
“His role is to play positive cricket. It is an option. The team-management always analysis various situations and decides the order,” Amre said.
( Source : dc )
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