India skipper Virat Kohli has hinted at playing Ajinkya Rahane at No.4 in the one day international series opener against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday.

India have been struggling to get a permanent No.4 batsman with the likes of Dinesh Karthik, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav being tried at this position for some time now.

“I had said earlier that Ajinkya will be looked at as a third opener, but that situation can change because he has batted at No. 4 in a World Cup before,” Kohli said at the pre-match press conference.

“These conditions are such that you get to play fast bowling throughout the innings so he becomes a strong candidate for No. 4. Other than that we have Shreyas, Manish, Kedar can play No. 5 and 6, Hardik is there, and MS is obviously there. We have kept all these options open, we don’t want to be one-dimensional. It depends whose technique is more suited to what spot. Especially in that particular country. All options are open,” he added.

While India have a settled top three with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, the 5, 6 and 7 are also more or less sorted with Jadhav, Dhoni and Pandya. India have tested a few players at No.4 but the team management is yet to take a call on who fits the position well.

With only 14 months to go for the 2019 ODI World Cup, India will also look to kick off their preparations in earnest during the series.

“The lower middle order is more or less sorted. The combination is working well for us with Hardik and Kedar and MS rotating and batting together. No. 4 is something we have experimented with in the last couple of series. That is the only spot I can see that needs to be solidified otherwise the team looks pretty balanced,” Kohli said.

Kohli further spoke on the importance of having two wrist-spinners in the team.

“We are one of the few teams, or probably the only team in world cricket, to be blessed with two wristspinners. And Kedar Jadhav doing the conventional job pretty well for the team. That’s why I said the balance of the team is pretty good at the moment. Wristspinners help you in any conditions in the world. Wristspinners can go for six an over but they will pick you three wickets as well, which is eventually the difference in the game. We are happy to have two who are very different to each other. We don’t have two leggies or two chinaman bowlers. Both are very different and versatile in their own way. I think that is going to be a major strength for this team going forward,” he said.

India will also be keen to better their past record and focus on winning their first-ever bilateral ODI series on South African soil.

India have previously lost 2-5 in 1992-93, 0-4 in 2006-07, 2-3 in 2010-11 and 0-2 in 2013-14. They were also part of two triangular series in 1996-97 and 2001-02, featuring Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively, but the Proteas emerged victors on both occasions.

After engaging in six ODIs and three T20Is against South Africa, India will head to Sri Lanka for a T20I tri-series before playing three ODIs and as many T20Is in England and Ireland, with the 2018 IPL season in between.