India will be playing their first group league match against Pakistan on Friday and a win against England is a necessity considering the team's continuing poor run.
The Indians went down by five runs in the opening warm-up match against Sri Lanka last night.
Although they didn't set the stage on fire, the two comeback men Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh had a decent outing with the bat yesterday, which makes their case even stronger.
By getting out for nought having misread the flight of a Sachitra Senanayeke delivery, Rahane has done himself no good.
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The batsmen who automatically select themselves are Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina.
While Raina batted at No 3 yesterday, it was done with an aim of giving skipper's trusted lieutenant a chance to settle down and play more deliveries since Kohli's place is settled in the side.
The only place Rahane fits in is at the top of the order where both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been struggling of late. Rahane has also successfully opened for Rajasthan Royals in the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League.