Notwithstanding criticism for making Ajinkya Rahane warm benches, Indian skipper MS Dhoni on Saturday hinted that the talented batsman may not feature in the playing eleven for the first ODI against South Africa as he fits into the setup only in the 'top three' batting slots.
Dhoni, who had earlier criticised Rahane for not rotating the strike enough in limited overs, said that the Mumbai batsman should only bat at the top of the order and not at five or six. With top three — Rohit , Dhawan and Kohli — selecting themselves for the series opener at Green Park, it is unlikely that Rahane will fit the bill.
"I think four is the number for Rahane. Even four is quite low for him I would say," said Dhoni on the eve of the match. The captain himself has promoted himself to number four and is looking for someone who can perform the role of a finisher, like what he did best for number of years.
‘difficult to maintain form’
After an "unexpected" series win in the T20s, South Africa's ODI captain AB de Villiers says it would be challenging to maintain the momentum against an Indian cricket team looking to bounce back in the five-match ODI series beginning.
"It is a great start in what promises to be a very challenging tour for us. In the T20 series, I don't think a lot of people expected us to play the way we did. There will be lots of travelling, lots of different grounds, lots of different wickets. It is going to be challenging but we have got very important momentum on our side and we are hoping to build on it tomorrow," said AB.