A recall for Raina, a punt on Pandya

Rahane’s top-order chance

Since Ajinkya Rahane’s ODI career received an unexpected second wind last year, he has scored 500 runs in 12 matches at an average of 45.45. After struggling to make the XI in the preceding tour of Bangladesh, Rahane has since firmed up his place in the middle order – five of his six fifties during this period have come from No. 3 or lower. Despite his success in the middle order – a position where Dhoni once felt Rahane couldn’t rotate strike efficiently from, especially on slow pitches – it is at the top that he truly belongs as his IPL record illustrates. With Rahane assured of at least three games as opener in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, he has a chance to recapture a slot where he has tasted considerable success.

Raina’s return

Suresh Raina has had an interesting 12 months since he last played an ODI. After two solid T20 efforts in Australia in January, he produced middling scores scattered among four DNBs, and an underwhelming World T20. While Raina scored nearly 400 runs in the IPL and led Gujarat Lions into the playoffs, his performance was still a faint echo of the imposing numbers he racked up while at Chennai Super Kings. Interestingly, his recent good performances have come in four-day matches, with two half-centuries in three Duleep Trophy innings.

The portents are good, …

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