India v Sri Lanka 2017: Rohit Sharma Reveals why Ajinkya Rahane missed 1st ODI

The stand-in skipper India’s Rohit Sharma revealed the team management had considered Ajinkya Rahane as an opener, particularly in the 50-over format.

“We have identified him as an opening batsman and that’s the only reason he had to sit out,” Sharma was quoted as saying by PTI when he was asked why Rahane was not included in the playing XI.

Pertinently, Sharma opened the innings alongside Shikhar Dhawan as both perished in first 4.1 overs when hosts posted just two on the board.

However, Sharma reiterated that don’t want to bother the 29-year-old Maharashtra-based right-handed batsman Rahane by changing his order on a regular basis.

“It plays on anyone’s mind not just his, if one’s batting order is kept on changing,” Sharma maintained.

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Recently, the limited-overs specialist, Rahane struggled to score runs in the three-match Test series which further raised questions over his batting technique against the fast bowlers.

Moreover, Sharma hinted it was the difficult scenario to pick Rahane into the playing XI while considering the line-up they have given a thought about.

“It’s important that they take the opportunity. I think we made it clear in Sri Lanka that he is an opening batsman and we don’t want to keep changing his batting slot,” Sharma asserted.

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It’s pertinent to mention that India picked debutant Shreyas Iyer, who scored 27-ball nine.

In the home series against Australia, Rahane scored the bulk of runs as Manish Pandey batted at number five after Iyer was sent at the one-down position.

“Having said that we understand the runs he scored in the past few series. But we wanted to give these guys Pandey, (Kedar) Jadhav, Iyer fair amount of game before we start touring abroad,” Sharma explained.

As India lost the first match by seven wickets against Lions, Sharma has praised the efforts of Mahendra Singh Dhoni for steadied the sinking ship when India was 29 for seven while batting first.

Sharma has further appreciated the efforts of Sri Lankan bowlers and further admitted the fact by saying it’s the wake-up call before the gruelling series in South Africa.

While leading the three-match ODI series 1-0, the Islanders chased down the modest total of 113 in 20.4 overs.

The second ODI is slated for December 13 (Wednesday) at Mohali. The regular skipper, Virat Kohli is enjoying his time in Italy with his fiancée and Bollywood veteran Anushka Sharma after requesting for a much-needed break which further saw him stating that he can’t play with ‘low energy’.