It seems either the board/selectors or Rahane don't want him to bat at the opener's slot. After being pitchforked as an opener for quite sometime, suddenly this drastic shift to not open even though he has that experience, is flummoxing. Pujara though, did a good job as he has already done once for India when he opened.
India tour of South Africa - 2013/14
- Thread starter SaiSrini
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nandu saju
School Cricketer
I do agree that Pujara is a good opener but why to make him open the innings when you have Rahane in the lineup.Its an unwanted experiment.Rahane was unable to perform well in his debut was only because he was pushed down to the middle order.May be the strategy is to get him in the slot of Sachin once he retires.But I am against it.When Sachin retires it should be Rohit who should replace.He definitely wants to make his debut in the longer format.I would recommend that Rahane should be a reserve opener who should replace M Vijay when he is out of form.
Samuels
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I second Sai on that. Maybe the management wants Rahane to be used as a middle order in the team in a bid to try out as a potential replacement for Sachin Tendulkar and if that is the case it is a very very good tactic but then it does not mean they should open with an irregular opener when Rahane is in the team.
vaibhavtewatia
Panel of Selectors
Pretty much sure everybody here agrees that Rahane should open. But it is worse than the Fletcher - Kohli pair, not sure who all belong to the management of India A, but they haven't done anything good with Rahane. Or should I say it was Rahane's mistake when he once said that he could bat at any no.
As for a player who can bat at any no., Rahane has been given no. of chances in the ODIs ( where he opened) but they were certainly not enough to earn him a Test spot. Even when he did, his approach in the Test against Australia was more like that he doesn't give a ----.
When Rahane broke into the International scene, I was really impressed by his approach on fast and bouncy pitches of England and personally found him the next big thing. But over the years, he has only harmed his reputation.
As for a player who can bat at any no., Rahane has been given no. of chances in the ODIs ( where he opened) but they were certainly not enough to earn him a Test spot. Even when he did, his approach in the Test against Australia was more like that he doesn't give a ----.
When Rahane broke into the International scene, I was really impressed by his approach on fast and bouncy pitches of England and personally found him the next big thing. But over the years, he has only harmed his reputation.
SAf A 185 (66.2 ov, WP Saha 77*, BE Hendricks 6/27) - Match over | Live Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo
Well that's it than. The series is level and we have lost this second game. Rahane and Saha tried hard but Hendricks was too good for them. Stuart Binny is not doing himself any favour by performing this poorly.
Well that's it than. The series is level and we have lost this second game. Rahane and Saha tried hard but Hendricks was too good for them. Stuart Binny is not doing himself any favour by performing this poorly.
I don't care about this result. Its the exposure that these boys got before the year-end test series. The likes of Dhawan, Vijay, Pujara, Raina, Rohit Sharma, Rahane, etc got good exposure of the conditions with the test series coming up, and that's enough. And I feel we might have unearthed a decent bowling backup in Ishwar Pandey (if the selectors think right, they should have him in the radar for the test series as a backup option).
Samuels
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Well well! Rahane top scored with 86. Good for Vijay, selectors seem to be taking him as a middle order batsman by all means as a potential replacement of Sachin Tendulkar I think.
vaibhavtewatia
Panel of Selectors
Just hope it is Saha ahead of Karthik!
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I'd say there's a very good chance this is the case, there is some value in having a non-opener open in these games, definit exposure to the new ball, it's pretty likely that Pujara will be in within a few overs a couple of times on the main tour so making him open here prepares him a bit better for that. would be concerned if they started doing it in the full tests though.
nandu saju
School Cricketer
M Vijay is constantly failing.I think he would be taken as the opener for the first tests and if he is still failing India would try the combination of Rohit and Dhawan in test as well.
Samuels
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Correct. I don't think India will take chance and use their best middle order batsman as an opener. In case Vijay fails which I am sure he will given his technique or rather lack of it, they might opt for Rohit Sharma instead who had a good outing with the A team. He has got a very healthy average too and his experience as an opener in ODI matches in recent times will help him with having a mindset of an opener.
nandu saju
School Cricketer
If you think Rohit would be made an opener then whom would you opt as a replacement for Sachin?Rahane?Raina? or bring yuvi back or go for youngsters like Ambati rayud?Dinesh Karthick?
Samuels
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Excuse me? Raina is nowhere near the test squad and similar is the case with Yuvraj, Rayudu and Karthik. I can see Rahane tried out in the middle order once Tendulkar retires. Apart from Rahane Manoj Tiwary deserves the run in the test team. Raina is tried and tested but he has proved to be a flat track bully. Jadeja has a good chance considering India has preferred him to use in shorter formats and the man has a decent FC record as well but he has not done anything to shout about with his batting which will be crucial in test matches unlike shorter formats where you can get away with 20-30 runs.
nandu saju
School Cricketer
Jadeja is already in the squad and his is a fine bowler and could bat a bit good as well,the right man India wants.Actually Raina was elected only for the bit of experience he has got.
