With only two months in hand before the ICC World Cup, Indian National Cricket team is yet to finalise their no four batsman, which keeps the middle-order unsettled. Moreover, the recent snubbing against Australia has also raised questions on their batting while many have opined that there is no need to read too much into the loss. As the management run out of time to select their middle-order, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir believes they have lost the crucial time.
Management should have backed Rayudu
The former cricketer also supported Ambati Rayudu at no four and said that the management should have given him a long run. However, the story is a bit different. The men in blues have given enough opportunities to Rayudu, and Dinesh Karthik and both have struggled for consistency. Rayudu, in particular, had batted at no four for the most game since his breakout in the Indian Premier League last year. Although he boasts a good average, runs have dried up against top teams. In the recently concluded ODI series against Australia, Ambati Rayudu managed to score only 33 runs from three games which raised questions regarding his place in the playing XI. However, contrary to this, he played a fine knock of 90 runs against New Zealand which settled his berth in the playing XI. But his poor show against the Aussies have once again made the middle-order look wobbly.
Gautam Gambhir feels the no four spot has to be in order if any side wants to have a settled batting order. Also, Gambhir feels that skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri should have backed Ambati Rayudu instead of dropping him after three consecutive failures against Australia. The southpaw argued that India had backed MS Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan which was not the case with Ambati Rayudu.
“If you want a settled batting order in the World Cup, then the No. 4 has to be decided beforehand and he should be backed completely,” Gambhir said.
“You have backed others too. You backed MS Dhoni too last year and even Shikhar Dhawan. Ambati Rayudu averages nearly 50 in ODIs, he hasn’t done anything wrong. Failures are part and parcel of the game. You didn’t drop any other player after two or three failures,” Gautam Gambhir added.
Meanwhile, there are speculations that skipper Virat Kohli might bat at four to provide stability in the batting order. In that case, it will be interesting to see who comes out to bat at one drop. The Indian National Cricket team will begin their World Cup campaign on June 5 against South Africa.