Anybody but Rahane for Dhoni

[Crookbond]

Ok with Rahane I admit he showed poor technique against Finn but how many times have we seen Sehwag display poor technique against swing bowling in the past 2 years? What about Vijay against Pattinson in the first innings? Dhawan has pretty ordinary technique too. My point is ... The selectors are sending him mixed signals. If his technique is poor it's going to be exposed in the middle order too. If they are that concerned about an openers technique then they wouldn't pick Sehwag and Vijay and leave Rahane in the dressingroom as a middle-order batsman. Sitting in the change-rooms as a middle-order batsman wont help him. Regarding Rohit Sharma, he has scored runs against quality bowling on away surfaces as well, so it's not simply a question of his record. His technique is there for everyone to see and almost every single former player or commentator that comments on him comments on his strong technique (not just 1 or 2 ... pretty much every single one). Rohit's problem has been temperament. He hasn't shown the temperament of Kohli or Pujara to go on with it. But if you keep playing him in ODIs (which isn't the best format to improve temperament) and immediately discard all his hard work in domestic cricket, then there is no chance for him to show that he can play Test cricket. What is Rohit Sharma supposed to do to prove to the selectors that he can play Test cricket? He doesn't get picked for away tours. He keeps smashing out runs in all tournaments in domestic cricket (even in the A match against Australia) but because he fails in ODIs he's discarded as a Test cricketer.

I'm not sure why people keep on discussing Rahane as an opener. He is picked for the No.6 spot and will remain there.

[Texan]

Good job Dhoni! Keep Rahane and Ojha out Sigh....

[Lord]

I'm not sure why people keep on discussing Rahane as an opener. He is picked for the No.6 spot and will remain there.

because that spot is sealed by Dhoni while both openers keep struggling and the spot should be up for grabs because hes opened in the past n now plays no.3 i.e. faces decent amount of new ball.thats closer to being where you have to bat with the tail which Rahane is completely unaccustomed to because hes technically better than all 3 'specialist' openers in the squad and doesnt throw it away after few dot balls are bowled to him. those reasons are enough imo.one should be open about these things,not saying Rahane can only be picked at no.6 since selectors set it in stone

[Crookbond]

because that spot is sealed by Dhoni while both openers keep struggling and the spot should be up for grabs because hes opened in the past n now plays no.3 i.e. faces decent amount of new ball.thats closer to being where you have to bat with the tail which Rahane is completely unaccustomed to because hes technically better than all 3 'specialist' openers in the squad and doesnt throw it away after few dot balls are bowled to him. those reasons are enough imo.one should be open about these things,not saying Rahane can only be picked at no.6 since selectors set it in stone

Dhoni sealing the No.6 spot? It is only in the last 2 Test matches that the No.6 spot has emerged for Dhoni. I don't think that's the reason. One of the greatest No.3 of all time Rahul Dravid found it difficult to adjust as an opener. Rahane has hardly opened in 4-day or 5-day games in the past. I understand your logic but it is risky to try someone as an opener in Test cricket when that's not his batting position in domestic cricket. Opening is a specialist position for Test match cricket. The point I'm trying to make is that lets not pass Rahane as an opener as a matter of "fact" when it's a really tough decision.

[Texan]

^^ So basically what you're saying is that keep picking woefully out-of-form Vijay and Sehwag who are very highly likely to fail, but don't give the guy sitting in the wings for a LONG LONG TIME a chance. I think Sehwag deserve a last chance in this series and Vijay doesn't even deserve this chance.

[Lord]

Dhoni sealing the No.6 spot? It is only in the last 2 Test matches that the No.6 spot has emerged for Dhoni. I don't think that's the reason. One of the greatest No.3 of all time Rahul Dravid found it difficult to adjust as an opener. Rahane has hardly opened in 4-day or 5-day games in the past. I understand your logic but it is risky to try someone as an opener in Test cricket when that's not his batting position in domestic cricket. Opening is a specialist position for Test match cricket. The point I'm trying to make is that lets not pass Rahane as an opener as a matter of "fact" when it's a really tough decision.

did Dravid bat at 6?How are you sure Rahane will be able to adjust to no.6 with Jaddu playing,Dhoni isnt going anywhere else,specially after these big knocks.he mentioned it too. Ofcourse its risky,but that doesnt mean you dont try and keep playing hacks like Vijay just because they are 'specialist' openers Rahane started his FC career as an opener IIRC

[Crookbond]

Texan, No - I meant to say we should pick specialist openers for Test matches. I am not justifying the selection of M Vijay as an opener for Test matches. That said, it makes more sense to give Shikhar Dhawan a chance than Rahane. The current discussion is on - Should Rahane be even looked into as an opening batsman? My answer is NO since he is not an opening batsman despite being technically correct. It is just too risky and may result in side effects & more confusion.

[Crookbond]

did Dravid bat at 6?How are you sure Rahane will be able to adjust to no.6 with Jaddu playing,Dhoni isnt going anywhere else,specially after these big knocks.he mentioned it too. Ofcourse its risky,but that doesnt mean you dont try and keep playing hacks like Vijay just because they are 'specialist' openers Rahane started his FC career as an opener IIRC

Yes Dravid was asked to bat at No. 6 in the famous Eden Garden's Test match when he was out of form to accomodate Laxman at No. 3. We all know what happened later. However, this point is not the crux of the discussion. Currently, there are two factos to consider - Opening is a specialist position unlike No.6 No. 6 has been the position for many greats in Test match cricket including Tendulkar, Dravid and Ponting. No.6 is not a specialist position unlike the opening slot. It is much easy to ease into the side at No.6 specially in SC conditions and then move up the order. So, there is a risk here. Also, remember that we need to learn from the past and what happened with Laxman with the opener's slot. Rahane's personal form Rahane has been in abysmal form in the last domestic season in FC games at No.3,4. Now the risk of not only playing someone at a position he's not specialized in for his state team when he's out of form is too risky. Lets not make it a matter of fact. That said, I don't support Vijay's selection in the team itself. The change in the opening can happen and replace Vijay with Dhawan. Rahane should not open in the current circumstances.

[Lord]

Yes Dravid was asked to bat at No. 6 in the famous Eden Garden's Test match when he was out of form to accomodate Laxman at No. 3. We all know what happened later. However, this point is not the crux of the discussion. Currently, there are two factos to consider - Opening is a specialist position unlike No.6 No. 6 has been the position for many greats in Test match cricket including Tendulkar, Dravid and Ponting. No.6 is not a specialist position unlike the opening slot. It is much easy to ease into the side at No.6 specially in SC conditions and then move up the order. So, there is a risk here. Also, remember that we need to learn from the past and what happened with Laxman with the opener's slot. Rahane's personal form Rahane has been in abysmal form in the last domestic season in FC games at No.3,4. Now the risk of not only playing someone at a position he's not specialized in for his state team when he's out of form is too risky. Lets not make it a matter of fact. That said, I don't support Vijay's selection in the team itself. The change in the opening can happen and replace Vijay with Dhawan. Rahane should not open in the current circumstances.

I'm not sure how you can opening is a specialist position n others are not.to me,every position is eqally important and require different skills.at no.6 you require a stroke maker who can bat with the tail,whereas in top 3 you need technically correct batsman even if he is dour.as I said his game is more closer to opening than no.6 the names you mentioned didnt debut at no.6 because it was easier,they did that because that spot was up for grabs,with minor adjustments.now the opening spot is under scanner and don't see why a guy who started as opener,now playing no.3 with a stellar record cant be given one chance there. Rahane played 3 Ranji games and scored @ above 50 n scored an 80 odd in Irani Trophy.not sure where did he miss out that you are saying hes in abysmal form.:hmmm: Dhawan is a hack too who finally had one good season.Its not a long term pick imo. The way I see it is that Rahane has been benched for far too long given his record n its unfair to not give him a chance just because MO players are doing well.its a risk worth taking

[Crookbond]

I'm not sure how you can opening is a specialist position n others are not.to me,every position is eqally important and require different skills.at no.6 you require a stroke maker who can bat with the tail,whereas in top 3 you need technically correct batsman even if he is dour.as I said his game is more closer to opening than no.6

It is relatively easy for a No.3,4 (which Rahane is) to play at No.6 than at No.1,2 as a debutant in Test match cricket.

[yoda]

Rahane has to wait as Sr. Gary Jadeja has taken the recently opened up 6th slot. Openers slot is not available for non-specialists yet. Yes our specialists suck, but we have more specialists (ex: Dhawan) who have to prove they also suck.

[Lord]

It is relatively easy for a No.3' date='4 (which Rahane is) to play at No.6 than at No.1,2 as a debutant in Test match cricket.[/quote'] maybe but that doesnt mean you keep waiting and waiting and ignore the openers failing every match.

[Crookbond]

maybe but that doesnt mean you keep waiting and waiting and ignore the openers failing every match.

It doesn't mean you pick a non-specialist opener for his debut Test match. The correct solution is to search for the best opener available.

[Cevno]

Rahane is not a opener. But making him sit out as a permanent waterboy is a disgrace for 7/8 months. Dhoni is probably upset his buddy Raina didn't get selected. If Selectors picked him Dhobi would have gotten him into the team no doubt.

[Texan]

Rahane is not a opener. But making him sit out as a permanent waterboy is a disgrace for 7/8 months. Dhoni is probably upset his buddy Raina didn't get selected. If Selectors picked him Dhobi would have gotten him into the team no doubt.

Absolutely no doubt about that. Had they picked either Raina or Yuvraj, they would have made it to the 11 instead of the 5th bowler.

[Texan]

Now that Shikhar Dhawan has been informed by the team management that he will be making his debut in the next test, I want to take a moment to congratulate our extremely good talent-spotter (remember Unadkat selected before Umesh Yadav in SA) Mr. M S Dhoni for officially ruining the career of Ajinkya Rahane. Good job Dhoni, we need more captains like you who can excel at spoiling careers of young batsmen who have performed out of their skins to get into the squad. Captains like you will build Test teams using IPL performances as the benchmark! Great job! P.S. Please spare him now and let him play domestic cricket at least. That is the least you can do now. Also, do inform the selectors that as long as you are captain, you will never pick him in the team so that the selectors don't waste their time deliberating whether to include him or not in the future.

[Ultimate_Game]

Now that Shikhar Dhawan has been informed by the team management that he will be making his debut in the next test' date=' I want to take a moment to congratulate our extremely good talent-spotter [i'](remember Unadkat selected before Umesh Yadav in SA) Mr. M S Dhoni for officially ruining the career of Ajinkya Rahane. Good job Dhoni, we need more captains like you who can excel at spoiling careers of young batsmen who have performed out of their skins to get into the squad. Captains like you will build Test teams using IPL performances as the benchmark! Great job! P.S. Please spare him now and let him play domestic cricket at least. That is the least you can do now. Also, do inform the selectors that as long as you are captain, you will never pick him in the team so that the selectors don't waste their time deliberating whether to include him or not in the future.

I read somewhere Rahane doesn't want to open and is more than happy to bide his time to break into the middle order. If that's true you can't do much but yeah I would have given Rahane & Rohit a few games by now. Maybe Pujara can be rested for this Test as he has an injured knee and Rahane can get a look-in.

[vvvslaxman]

I read somewhere Rahane doesn't want to open and is more than happy to bide his time to break into the middle order. If that's true you can't do much but yeah I would have given Rahane & Rohit a few games by now. Maybe Pujara can be rested for this Test as he has an injured knee and Rahane can get a look-in.

Good call. If you learn anything from Laxman's career that is it. IT could very well end your career. Pujara, Kohli, Tendulkar are dead certs in the middle order. Unless Dhoni decides to go with 4 bowlers Rahane better wait.

[Vivek.S.123]

Good call. If you learn anything from Laxman's career that is it. IT could very well end your career. Pujara, Kohli, Tendulkar are dead certs in the middle order. Unless Dhoni decides to go with 4 bowlers Rahane better wait.

Hopefully Tendulkar rests for the 4th test and Rahane debuts

[Texan]

Hopefully Tendulkar rests for the 4th test and Rahane debuts

Tendulkar has never been rested for Tests and will not sit out a game if he's fit.