India skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday made it clear that in-form batsman Ajinkya Rahane is the team's third opener, effectively ruling him out of Sunday's ODI series opener against New Zealand here.
"He's (Rahane) definitely grabbed his opportunities as the third opener. As I mentioned there was Kl (Rahul) as well competing for the (opening) spot. But Jinx (Rahane) has performed well, stood up and taken his chances.
"That's how the dynamics of a team work when you have four guys who play in a similar position and obviously one of them will have to miss out as only two can play in the XI," said Kohli at the pre match media conference here.
Kohli said he would not want Rahane to get confused by playing him in the middle order.
"We don't want him (Rahane) to confuse too much by making him play in the middle order because you need to find your game in ODI cricket. You need to understand how to go about things in ODI cricket and he has always been solid at the top of the order because of his technique and he likes playing there. It gives him freedom to go after the bowlers," said the captain.
With two hectic and crucial overseas tours lined-up, Kohli also revealed that some key batsmen of the team they will get much-needed rest.
Apart from that, he said that the team management would take a call on how to manage the workload of the bowlers across all formats.
This series will be India’s first under the new ICC ODI regulations. Kohli said the new ODI playing rules will make the game more exciting and professional. “It's a good thing, new regulations will makes things much more exciting and bit more professional I guess,” he added.