Of late, the Indian National Cricket Team has experimented with the team more than any other International teams in the World Cricket. They failures of Ambati Rayudu made thinktank to search for new number 4 position. During the course, BCCI dropped a few regular players like MS Dhoni, which cost India the ODI series against Australia at home just ahead of IPL 2019.
India conceded series victories to Australia:
Did India commit a mistake by resting those key players? With IPL 2019 around the corner and the quality of cricket in IPL being high, India would have made an eye on the players, whom they want to test. Instead, they asked the key players to take a backseat and found themselves in a soup.
Apart from dropping Ambati Rayudu, they would have given a continued run for him in the final two ODI games, which would have given a clear picture for the selection. With both Vijay Shankar and Rishabh Pant failing to deliver at that position, India is now with a big headache.
Now, they can’t rely either on Rayudu or Vijay Shankar and couldn’t give a try to a new player at the number 4 in a tournament like ICC World Cup 2019.
Instead of that, they would have stuck with Rayudu and try for the alternative options by looking at the performances of the few players in the Indian Premier League 2019. In between, MS Dhoni would have also played a couple of matches ahead of the grand event, which would have given him a gametime.
Who will bat at number 4?
Currently, India is finding it tough to get a perfect player in the number 4 position. With the number 4 position being the crucial aspect for the team, they tried out various players but yet to figure out their best player.
There are quite a few options in the hand for the Indian management with Ambati Rayudu, Virat Kohli, Dhoni all being able to play at that slot.
Ambati Rayudu pressed his case further to stick at number 4 for the team with a scintillating century in the final ODI of the series against New Zealand. However, it isn’t the same for Rayudu anymore, he failed to make his mark in the series against Australia in Indian Conditions.
With scores of 13, 18 and 2 in the first three ODIs in the ongoing ODI series against Australia, Rayudu gave a lot to ponder for the Indian side ahead of the grand event. Meanwhile, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli quoted that he might bat at number 4.
The Indian skipper got a quality batting average at number 4 for the team. Though the numbers at third position look astounding, the number 4 figures also look quite dominating for Virat Kohli. He excelled in both the positions to perfection.
All in all, it would have been brilliant if India figured out their squad ahead of Indian Premier League 2019. So far, Indians haven’t played a single game with their full-strength in any of the ODI games in the recent past.