We are backing Rahane at the top of the order: Virat Kohli

Indian captain Virat Kohli has hinted that Ajinkya Rahane is likely to replace Shikhar Dhawan as the opener for the 1st ODI against Australia, starting tomorrow at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. Dhawan will miss the first three ODIs, as he went back to his home, to spend time with his ailing mother.

There were clouds of doubts over the opening slot, as KL Rahul was a potential candidate too, apart from Rahane. Speaking on the eve of the match, Kohli said that Rahane has clarity in his mind and India are backing him at the top of the order.

Competition is always there: Kohli

“It’s up to the player to take up a versatile position what the team requires him to do. I am not saying it’s easy. See Ajinkya Rahane plays in middle order in ODIs and Tests and then he has opened a lot in the ODIs are well. He also felt that he found it difficult to switch. Now we are backing Rahane at the top of the order so he knows his plans are clear. Once you get that balance with given that player more chances then he gets more confident of his role in the team,” he said.

“Till then there is Manish and Kedar so there will always be competition. KL is a outstanding talent and proved himself in all formats. He needs to be back because we believe he has the ability, once he gets his role done, then he will start winning you games and we are very sure of than.”

Intensity remains the same: Kohli

Kohli also said that they will play every series with the same intensity. Indian recently clean swept Sri Lanka across all three formats. “I don’t think we need to see any series differently. As I mentioned in Sri Lanka as well, your preparations should matter more than who you are playing against. You will assess the strength and weaknesses of the teams but you cannot increase or decrease you intensity according to who you are playing against. That’s not being fair to the sport and that’s something we as a team do not believe is. So, we like prepare the same way and play with same intensity regardless of who we are playing,” he said.