Rajat Patidar or Rinku Singh - who should replace Shreyas Iyer in 2nd ODI vs South Africa?

Playing their first ODI since the heartbreaking 2023 World Cup final defeat against Australia, India hit the ground running from ball one against South Africa in Johannesburg on December 17.

After bowling out the hosts for a paltry 116, India romped home by eight wickets in the 17th over to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Shreyas Iyer continued his sparkling ODI form from the World Cup with an attacking 45-ball 52, including six fours and a six.

However, as part of India's preparations for the upcoming two-match Test series, Iyer will join the red-ball unit and partake in a three-day inter-squad match. The 29-year-old was originally part of the squad for all three ODIs, but the BCCI released him from the team to prepare for the Test series.

It leaves the door open for potential ODI debuts for Rajat Patidar or Rinku Singh, considering they are the only two batters left other than those from the opening game. Both batters make compelling cases to feature in the playing XI for the second ODI in Gqeberha, and the decision could be a good headache for the think tank.

Here, we look at the various factors that could help tilt selection one way or the other between Rajat Patidar and Rinku Singh.

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#1 Better fit

Patidar should be the perfect like-to-like replacement for Iyer.

Considering Shreyas Iyer batted at No.3 in the first ODI against South Africa, India could play Rajat Patidar to ensure the rest of the batting order stays the same.

In the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy, Patidar batted at No.3 and 4 for Madhya Pradesh, and he is overall more suited to the one-drop position. Meanwhile, Rinku Singh has shown incredible skills as a finisher for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Team India in the shortest format this year.

Replacing Iyer with Patidar also ensures a right-hander remains at No.3, with Sai Sudharsan and Tilak Varma being left-handed batters on either side.

It is possible to achieve a reasonable fit with Rinku playing at No.6 and Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, and Sanju Samson moving up to 3,4, and 5. However, Team India may be better off maintaining stability and playing Patidar as a straight swap for Iyer.

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#2 Current form

Rinku Singh has been in the form of his life in 2023.

Despite Rajat Patidar's impressive return from an Achilles heel injury, Rinku Singh is hard to look past in his current form.

To Patidar's credit, he was Madhya Pradesh's leading run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 315 runs at an average of 52.50 and a strike rate of 104.30. The 30-year-old also scored half-centuries in four of the six matches.

However, it is hard to pick against Rinku in his present form, with the 26-year-old taking to international cricket like a bed of roses. Following excellent finishing gigs in the Ireland T20Is and the Asian games, the southpaw produced valuable knocks under trying circumstances against Australia in the home T20I series.

Rinku further cemented his white-ball prowess with a sensational 68* off 39 deliveries in his first international outing in South Africa during the second T20I.

With a batting average of over 65 and a strike rate of 180.68 in 12 T20Is, Rinku's current run of form is hard to overlook during selection for the second ODI.

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#3 Cricketing logic and intangibles

The duo can each consider themselves unlucky if they miss out on playing in the second ODI.

The phrase "two things can be true" cannot be more ideal to sum up the situation with Rajat Patidar and Rinku Singh. One of the unwritten rules in selections is following a hierarchy, but in this case, even that can work either way.

Rinku should warrant the first crack, considering he is the one who has already made his India debut, albeit in T20Is. Yet, Patidar received his first national call-up last year for the home ODI series against South Africa but did not play a single game.

The intangible case in point that could work either way is Patidar's international debut in South Africa. One school of thought could be - Why select him in the squad if he isn't featuring in the playing XI? The other can be if it is ideal to debut in potentially alien conditions in South Africa.

The venue for the second ODI could also be the determining factor, with Rinku already scoring a half-century in the second T20I in Gqeberha.

To sum up, the team management must look at the above parameters rationally and make the difficult decision accordingly.