****Cricket post alert**** So Rohit Sharma has blown open the competition for the openers slot in the Indian squad. With Shikhar Dhawan being a no brainer for one of the slots, Ajinkya Rahane was firmly tightening his grip over the other slot on the back of some consistent performances. But this 264 tsunami by Rohit has turned the tides completely. Statutory warning, this post will be critical of Rohit. So for the ones over-whelmed by his brilliant innings today, I suggest avoid reading any further. The openers positions have been subject to a lot of chopping and changing ever since Sehwag and Gambhir lost their places in the squad. After trying out various new combinations, finally the pair of Rohit and Dhawan clicked, particularly in the Champions trophy, which saw them get an extended run at the top. While there have been some good partnerships between the two, there have also been elongated patches of dry spells where the two have failed to give the team good starts, particularly outside the sub-continent. So coming to the million dollar question - Who should open the innings in the World Cup for India? With Dhawan striking form again, he becomes a default choice. However, for the other slot, I favor Rahane over Sharma. For the fanatics who are about to shoot me down, I have my reasons. Rohit is too slow a starter for one-dayers. Because of his tendency to spend too much time trying to get the feel of the ball and reluctance to rotate strike, Dhawan inadvertently gets under pressure and is often seen getting out to loose shots. Even today, he was on 4 of 17 balls when he was dropped at third man boundary . While he might have gone on to score a record breaking double century, but that is most likely going to be an outlier, and not a regularly occurring event. What adds to the argument is the fact that he has constantly failed in the slot abroad. Its one thing to butcher a novice Sri Lankan bowling attack on flat tracks of India and completely another thing to face the Steys and the Johnsons on the fast and bouncy tracks of Australia. A quick start under those conditions becomes of prime importance and if any opener gets stuck at one end, he makes it extremely difficult for the guy at the other end, and the guys to follow to make up for all the dot balls. Rohit has been guilty of doing the same in each and every innings of his at the top of the order. And in Australia, he might not be able to make up for the same. Rahane, on the other hand, looks interested in rotating the strike and find the odd boundary of the loose balls, ensuring that the scoreboard keeps moving and Dhawan isnt put into pressure to blast his way to boundaries. Rahane outscoring Dhawan is a reality, Sharma doing the same is insanity. Batting being Indias fortress, it is important for them to pick the right guys upfront who can giving the platform for the hitters in the middle order to score a big total. At the same time, we cant take anything away from Sharma. Scoring a 200 once is a mountain in itself. To do it twice and in the fashion that he has done is truly incredible. It was a once in a lifetime knock and should be aplauded and cherished. But the bearing of this innings shouldnt prevent the management from grooming Rahane for the openers slot. My playing X1 for World Cup (in batting order) : Dhawan, Rahane, Kohli, Raina, Sharma, Dhoni, Jadeja, Ashwin/Mishra, Bhuvneshwar, Shami and Yadav.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 16:13:48 +0000
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