Has the time come to bat Ajinkya Rahane at No.3 in Tests?

Ajinkya Rahane deserves a shot at No.3 in Test cricket

India have been searching for a suitable candidate for the No.6 spot in Test cricket ever since the retirement of Sourav Ganguly. A number of players, including Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma, have been tried, but no one has been able to nail down that spot. As if India needed another headache, they have now got one more issue to sort out in the form of the all-important No.3 spot.

When Rahul Dravid called it a day, it seemed as though Cheteshwar Pujara was a readymade replacement and the way Pujara started his Test career showed that he was the right man to replace Dravid.

Pujara has not lived up to his early success in Test cricket

In his first 17 Tests, he scored a staggering 1590 runs at an average of 66.25. However, his last one year has been a major letdown, with the 27-year-old scoring only 483 runs from 10 Tests at a paltry average of 24.15.

His poor form meant that he was dropped for the final Test in Sydney and Rohit Sharma was given a chance at No.3. Rohit had moderate success as he scored a fifty in the first innings and 39 in the second.

Pujara, meanwhile, had a brief stint with Yorkshire this season and scored 264 runs at an average of 52.8. He scored an impressive 133* in his last match for the county champions, leading experts to believe that Pujara will be back in the playing eleven for the ongoing one-off Test against Bangladesh. But Virat Kohli decided to stick with Rohit, who scored only 6 in the first innings and is unlikely to get an opportunity to bat again in this Test.

While it would be unfair to write Rohit off so quickly, he is unlikely to make a success of the No.3 position considering his tendency to poke at balls outside off-stump. However, he deserves further opportunities to cement his place in the Test side lower down the order. With Kohli indicating that he might play five bowlers in Test cricket going forward, Pujara looks set to find himself out of the side with there being room for only 5 specialist batsmen.

Ajinkya Rahane has the credentials to succeed at No.3

That brings me to who should be batting at No.3, and there is one obvious candidate who will be perfectly suited to the role – Ajinkya Rahane.

Rahane has been the most improved Indian player over the last 12 months or so and has made runs on home soil as well as on overseas tours. Since India’s tour of South Africa in December 2013, he has scored 1167 runs from 14 Tests, all of which have been played away from home, at a phenomenal average of 50.73. His success on foreign soil has shown that he is more technically equipped than Rohit and Pujara.

If Kohli wants to go with the strategy of playing only 5 batsmen with Wriddhiman Saha at No.6, it is better to play Rahane at No.3 and Rohit at No.5. The No.3 position is a very important one in the longer format and it is imperative that one of your best batsmen occupies that spot. Considering that Rahane started his career as an opening batsman, it won't be too difficult for him to adapt to the position either.

Like Dravid, Rahane is a complete team man and is ready to bat at different positions in different formats for the team's cause. He won't be hesitant to grab the pivotal No.3 spot if the team management decides to give him the role. We will have to wait and see, though, if Kohli would be fine with Rahane at No.3 considering the fact that the Mumbaikar has adapted to the No.5 spot well.