Ajinkya Rahane or Rohit Sharma - Who should open for India along with Shikhar Dhawan?

The 2015 World Cup is just a few months away. And as part of their preparations for the mega event, all teams are playing a lot of One Day International (ODI) cricket to get their team combination right and to find the ideal XI that can take them a long way in the marquee tournament.

India, being the defending champions, would surely want to get their team combination sorted out pretty soon. However, they are faced with a dilemma at the very top of the batting order.

But first, let’s take a look at the batsman who is assured of being in one of the two opening slots.

Shikhar Dhawan

The moustache-twirling, swashbuckling opener from Delhi is an automatic choice for the opener’s slot in the upcoming World Cup. Though his Test career has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride since that breathtaking debut vs Australia, his ODI career has been a lot more stable in comparison, with him having accumulated 1,763 runs at an average of 41.98.

Dhawan has notched up 5 ODI hundreds

Dhawan has also notched up nine fifties and five hundreds in the process, which is indicative of the fact that he is good at converting his starts. Not only that, he scores at a brisk pace, too, which his strike-rate of 88.77 indicates. Another noteworthy statistic is his home and away average in one dayers – at home, he has played 13 games accumulating 547 runs at an impressive average of 45.58, and away from home, he has played in 33 matches and scored 1,216 runs at a more than decent average of 40.53.

But beyond the numbers, there’s a lot more that the 28-year-old possesses that works in his favour. Firstly, he is a left-handed batsman. Secondly, he is the kind of batsman who loves taking the attack to the opponent’s camp and never really allows the bowlers to settle in. On the fast and pacy Australian pitches where the ball comes on to the bat quite nicely, he can be a real handful.

Perhaps most importantly though, Dhawan is not afraid of the short ball. More often that not he pulls or hooks the ball with ease. He also has a few audacious shots up his sleeve, like this upper cut he played against Stuart Broad in the Champion’s Trophy final.

The long and the short of it is that the Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman is guaranteed to be one of the openers for India. The real headache for Dhoni and Co. is to find the ideal opening partner for the dashing Delhite.

There are two Mumbaikars who can ably partner Dhawan. However, picking one from among them is surely going to be difficult. Let’s take a look at both these batsmen and try and arrive at a conclusion.

Rohit Sharma

Classy, talented, stylish – these are some of the many adjectives that have been associated with this 27-year-old from Mumbai. But somehow, he remains a bit of an enigma. His career has not really attained the heights that it was expected to. Yes, things have changed in the last couple of years, but there still is a lot more that the Mumbai Indians skipper can achieve, and would want to achieve, to silence his critics.

Sharma did not break into the Indian team as an opener. In fact, in his maiden ODI innings in 2007, he batted at number 7. Even after that he batted in the middle order at either 4 or 5 for a very long time.

The first time he opened the innings in a match was against the Proteas at Cape Town in 2011. The experiment didn’t really work though, as he managed just 29 runs in 3 outings at a paltry average of 9.66. Thereafter, he was again drafted back into the middle order where his topsy turvy form continued.

He was brought back to the opening slot in a game against England at Mohali in January 2013, where he made a sedate 83. And there has been no looking back since.

In the 2013 IPL season, Sharma was made the captain of the Mumbai Indians, and that surely has brought about a lot of stability and maturity in the 27-year-old’s game. Ever since that innings versus England, he has scored 1,483 runs at a decent average of 47.83. This also includes the absolute masterful 209 he scored against the mighty Aussies at Bangalore.

Rohit during his innings of 209 v the Aussies at Bangalore

Now, let’s have a look at some numbers. Given that Sharma has batted at various positions right through his career, his performance at each of these positions would be interesting to note. As mentioned above, he batted in his maiden innings at number 7. He has batted in the lower middle order (at 6 and 7) on 19 occassions, having scored 270 runs at 22.50.

Let’s not read too much into those numbers though, as he’s not even expected to play there. He has even played nine innings at number 3, scoring 120 runs at 15. But with Virat Kohli having sealed his spot at that position, there’s nothing much to discuss there either.

Rohit’s batting average by position

In the middle order (at 4 and 5), the Mumbaikar has played 51 innings and scored 1577 runs at a decent average of 37.54, which also includes 11 fiftties and 2 hundreds. His strike-rate in the middle order is 80.54. As an opener, the Mumbai Indians skipper has played 39 innings and scored 1512 runs at an average of 43.20, which includes 11 fifties and 2 tons. His strike-rate as an opener is a decent 77.81.

Here, it is worth noting that in the IPL, the 27-year-old bats predominantly at the number 4 position. His record at number 4 in the IPL reads 62 innings and 1,750 runs at an average of 34.31 and a strike-rate of 126.63. More often than not, he comes in midway through the innings and stays till the end to provide the necessary acceleration, ultimately finishing off the innings in style. Many a times, he has stayed on till the very end to guide his team to victory.

Now that we have had a look at Sharma’s numbers, let’s take a look at how the numbers stack up for the other contender, Ajinkya Rahane.

Ajinkya Rahane

This 26-year-old right handed batsman is just about as solid and compact as his idol and Rajasthan Royals mentor. Though he made an impressive ODI debut versus England in 2011 wherein he scored 40 runs off 44 balls, in the 37 games after that, he didn’t really progress all that well. However, of late, he has become a regular fixture in the Indian team across all formats.

Rahane scored a century v England at Edgbaston

As mentioned above, opening the innings on debut, Rahane scored 40 runs at a strike rate of 90.90 and provided a good start at the top of the order. Impressed by his showing, the selectors gave him a long rope at that position. He opened for India in 16 innings, scoring 404 runs at an average of 25.25 and a strike-rate of 72.66, before being moved down the order. Over the next 10 innings he played twice at No. 3 and eight times at No. 4, and managed to score 227 runs at an average of 22.70 and a strike-rate of 68.78

Rahane’s average by batting position

However, earlier this year, he was moved back to the opening slot in a game against Afghanistan during the Asia Cup. During the tour to England, when fellow Mumbaikar Sharma made a comeback at the top of the order, Rahane was again moved to the number 4 spot. However, Sharma got injured in the match and subsequently Rahane was moved back to the opening slot once again.

Since then, the Royals opener has scored 255 runs at an average of 42.50 and an impressive strike rate of 93.75. He also notched up a fifty and an impressive hundred against England at Edgbaston in the process. It is worth noting that even in the IPL, the 26-year-old opens the innings. As an opener in the T20 event, he has notched up 1,387 runs in 46 innings at an average of 34.68 and a strike-rate of 117.05. He lays a solid foundation for the batsmen to come and sometimes even stays the course, allowing the other batsmen to bat around him.

Breaking down the numbers further

Having had a look at the numbers of both these batsmen, it is pretty evident why it is difficult to choose between either of the two. Add to that, Sharma is back from his injury layoff and has made a statement of intent by scoring a 111-ball 142 against Sri Lanka in a practice game. He has also stated that his fellow Mumbaiite was only opening the innings in his absence and it is he who will partner Dhawan.

However, from the above mentioned numbers, one can say that though Sharma’s game has turned around ever since he started opening the innings, his performance in the middle order was pretty much on similar lines. Also, his strike-rate as a middle order batsman is a tad better than that as as an opener. What is also worth noting is the fact that ever since that 209 against Australia in Bangalore, India’s No. 45 has opened the innings on 14 occassions and scored 412 runs at a mediocre average of 29.42.

From Rahane’s numbers, it is clear that he is more comfortable opening the innings than playing in the middle order. Added to that is the fact that his experience of frequently opening in the IPL can be very handy at the top of the order. Also, his strike-rate while batting in the middle order dips to under 70. He has registered just two fifties while batting in the middle order, both of which have come against minnow teams like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Moreover, Rahane has a kind of game that can very nicely complement that of Dhawan. While the Delhi dasher can go after the bowling at one end, the steady Mumbaikar can hold fort at the other, which can really help in laying down a solid foundation. In that case, Sharma can be moved to number 4 where he can act as an ideal foil between the top order and the middle order. Also, given his ability to up the ante at the fag end of the innings, he along with Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja can provide a sizzling finish to the team.

At the end of it all, the answer is pretty clear

Though Sharma has announced his comeback by notching up another ton while opening the innings, it would still be ideal to slot him in the middle order at number 4 and allow Rahane to continue his good work at the top of the order. Given that the World Cup is still a few months away and that India are going to play a fair bit of one-day cricket till then, it gives the both of them the perfect opportunity to fit into their respective positions.

Since India bank pretty heavily on their batting, the think-tank will just be hoping that this dilemma at the top of the order is sorted out sooner rather than later.