Series after series, question marks loom over who shall take over as the next India number four. This year itself, we have had multiple candidates vying for that one single spot, but all in vain. Yuvraj Singh commenced the year in some serious style, by spanking England in his good old ways at Cuttack in January, when he amassed his career best score of 150.
Batting, at number 4, it seemed that the Yuvraj of the good old days was back to make a statement. His approach in that innings was exemplary as he attacked right from the start and towards the end, decimated England. Thanks to his bludgeoning knock, India went on to score a mammoth 381 after being reduced to a mere 25-3 within the first five overs.
A few months later, and the same issue arose, as the selectors put their question marks over Singh’s fitness. His form wasn’t too appalling for him to get dropped, as he still averages over 40 this year at number four, and has two Man of the Match awards to his name while batting at that position, the latter of which came against Pakistan in India’s Champions Trophy opener.
But the bigger worry about Yuvraj has been his woeful fielding and fitness standards. Despite impressing everyone initially with his improved fitness, Singh faded back to the unwanted ways as he was found wanting in the field. Throughout the Champions Trophy in England, the veteran of 304 games was guilty of being lethargic in the outfield, which did cost India a few runs. The series in the Caribbean presented the same portrait of Yuvraj as he couldn’t improve on to his fielding, which was a noticeable aspect.
Once Ravi Shastri was reinstated as the side’s coach, he made it clear that poor fitness standards won’t be tolerated and it was his first goal to make India the world’s best fielding side. Thereby, Yuvraj was overlooked for the ODI series in Sri Lanka and selector MSK Prasad termed this as “rotation” and not axing, meaning Yuvraj could still find his way back into the team provided he improved his fitness for the Australia series later this month.
Moving on from Yuvraj, mighty talented Karnataka batsman KL Rahul was given a run at that position. Rahul was chosen of the in form Manish Pandey, and this did raise a few eyebrows in circuits close to the Indian camp.
Rahul probably ended up being the biggest disappointment for India in the otherwise comprehensive series whitewash win. Throughout his three innings in the emerald isles, Rahul was dismissed by the spin of Akila Dananjaya, and he was in no position to adequately negate the sharp turn. Making a meal of three easy opportunities and playing absolutely nothing shots continuously, Rahul made it evident that he was still raw to represent India in ODI’s, let alone take over that troubled number four slot.
Having no other option, India reverted to Manish Pandey, who came on the back of a fantastic outing for India A in South Africa. Batting at 6 in his comeback match, Pandey was spot on from the word go, as his quick fire half century enabled the men in blue to finish with a flurry. In the ODI last night as well, Pandey steadied the ship with skipper Virat Kohli, before being dismissed in the 30’s.
The issue though here is, even after playing two assuring knocks, Pandey hasn’t’ fully cemented that number four spot. And as chief selector MSK Prasad mentioned recently, if India indeed truly rotate their middle order players, it will be interesting to see who gets that role at number four for the home assignments against Australia, New Zealand and later against Sri Lanka.
As of now, there is a three-way competition for that spot between Pandey, Rahul, and Yuvraj. Among the three, Pandey has the bulkiest chance of cementing that spot, given his fitness levels are as good as the best around. Another aspect in Pandey’s favor is his athletic outfield fielding which makes him a must have commodity.
Analyzing Rahul, it’s safe to say that he still needs a while before getting into the Indian team. If Rahul is to work out on his ODI skills in the middle order, the ideal thing for him would be to turn out for India A in the next few months and work there with someone like Rahul Dravid, who can truly widen his horizon. Considering that Kedar Jadhav has his spot guaranteed at number 6 and MS Dhoni at 5, it does seem that for now, Manish Pandey is the certain number four for the Australia series.
However, one even cannot rule out experience at that spot, as tried previously in the form of Yuvraj Singh. If experience is the criteria, then another southpaw fits the bill in the form of Suresh Raina. Raina too has been around the circuit, and his fitness is being keenly monitored. A productive outing in the Duleep Trophy, where he even leads a side, could be his ticket to that number 4 slot.
For now, though, the order of the team suggests that Manish Pandey will be the number four. There wouldn’t be too many changes in the setup for the Australia series, but if indeed Yuvraj Singh is back, then things will get extremely interesting. In case that happens, and if Yuvraj performs at number four in limited opportunities, the selectors could be in for some more headaches.