It’s the year of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and again the Indian Cricket Team finds themselves in a similar mud of confusion. The tournament’s favourite is yet to solve a few missing puzzles going into the mega event. One of their batting worries revolves around the middle order, especially who’ll bat at number four.
The position is tricky, as you have to be flexible enough to adjust to the situation. The batter will be on their toes, two wickets may get down anytime. They need to hold the innings as well. And sometimes, they’ll be out there after a strong batting foundation and have to maximize the opportunity.
Last time in 2019, India didn’t have a settled number four in the batting position. And we have seen in the past, how crucial the batting position is. With less than two months to go, Rohit Sharma is yet to find a solution to this. Let’s help the team management out by suggest 5 players who can bat at number 4 for India team in upcoming ODI World Cup 2023.
5. Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer. (Photo Source: Getty Images)
India’s first choice would be getting Shreyas Iyer back to his batting position. The Mumbaikar in recent times has got ample chances to prove his calibre. He’s proved his skills and India’s best bet for the tough job. Post 2019 CWC, Iyer has played 20 innings scoring 805 runs at 94 SR, the highest among all Indian batters batting at number four.
He’s a technically sound bat who can handle such situations. Most importantly he’s done that in the recent past, better than all tested at number four. If India loses two early wickets, he has the skill set to see through the situation. He’s been a leader himself, so he knows what the team expects from him.
Mostly, Shreyas’s batting would come in middle overs when spinners would come from both ends. He’s one of the best players of spin in recent times. The clutch player is mentally strong and very much capable of taking India out of a batting debacle. But his injury woes have changed quite a few equations in squad selection.
4. KL Rahul
KL Rahul. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Along with Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul is an important member of the World Cup pool for India. Post 2019 World Cup, Rahul has been mostly seen batting at number 5 and 6. He’s been quite successful in finishing the innings. He’s keeping the wickets as well which makes him an obvious choice given Rishabh Pant’s absence.
But this time, it seems KL needs to bat up the order if Iyer doesn’t make a comeback in time. KL himself sustained injury during IPL which kept him out of Team India and is now on the way to recovery. He’ll take part in a practice match at NCA and we will get to know the final updates in a few day’s time. Till now, in the past four years, KL batted thrice in this position scoring 189 runs including a century.
KL has all the attributes to play at number four. He’s done that in the past in CWC 2019 and this time, he’ll play the CWC at home. If he can control and pace the innings, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja can finish off really well. Someone senior like him is needed to hold the innings.
3. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Hardik Pandya is one of the few names that can be discussed when the issue of number four is raised. Though, cricket pundits will ask, reiterate their opinions. But he can come up the order and take the challenge. And Hardik thrives on challenges like these. He’s been a regular number four for his IPL franchise Gujarat Titans. So, he knows how to perform under pressure.
Over the last couple of months, Hardik as a batter has changed a lot. He has added more sensibilities to his batting and is seen taking up responsibilities. He takes his time to settle down, can play through the innings, and then explore in the end. A new dimension to his game made him a pure middle-order batter rather than a finisher a few seasons back.
But this option should be availed only if both KL and Iyer miss the bus for Asia Cup. If you want to play Hardik at number in the World Cup, then the Asia Cup and Australia series are the last opportunities. But this can be a tough situation to promote Hardik so up the order that the batting tail can be exposed sooner than expected. However, team management needs to take a bold call, who knows that this surprise trick can do wonders?
2. Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Another option, Indian selectors and team management can explore is to make Shubman bat at number four. It may rise quite a few eyebrows, but the situation is such things are looking blurry. Though, Shubman is giving good starts up the order and complementing Rohit Sharma. But there’s a gap between numbers three and five, and someone is needed to bridge that gap.
Gill has been in tremendous form especially this year in ODI cricket. But all his matches were as openers, his favourable batting position. Looking at his calibre, India may take a punt to demote him down the order to take charge. And now the time has arrived to make the call before he finds out of place mid-WC.
This option is explored keeping in mind Ishan Kishan replacing Gill at the top. Among Gill and Kishan, the former one is a better option. All these possibilities are kept in mind in case anything drastic happens. Then, Gill has to be given ample chances to bat at number four to get a feel of the game.
1. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
If we look at the record from 2000 onwards, Virat Kohli is the third-highest run-getter for India batting at number four after Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid. It may look surprising to think someone who has made number three his own to don the next batting position as well. Earlier in his career, Virat was a regular feature at number four. His first World Cup century came there, special knock of 35 in the final and the Hobart storm of 139* – all batting two down.
Though, Virat used to play quite often up till 2015, post that in his only two innings accumulated 23 runs at number four. But considering Virat’s past records and adaptability, he’s capable of batting number four. And among all the contemporaries, he’s far more accomplished and dependable to bat. Considering his team spirit and passion, Virat won’t mind if the team asks him so.
This should be done only in extreme conditions. With Virat moving down, there’s a void at number three. Then Gill should bat at the position, it won’t make much of a difference to his opening game. And it also allows Ishan to bat where he’s most comfortable.