India’s number four was the eternal bugbear at the ICC World Cup 2019. KL Rahul has evidently not been playing his natural game at number 4 and MS Dhoni’s position in the batting order has not always been number 4. With Ambati Rayudu announcing his retirement from international cricket, India have some other options left to fill the void at number 4.
Here are 4 players who may be considered for the number 4 slot.
- Manish Pandey – Pandey is a typical number 4, being a calm batsman in pressure situations. He can swiftly rotate strike and build an innings while he can play spin very well as well. Pandey is known as a good timer of the ball and was the first Indian player to score a century in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He debuted for India in 2015 and has performed decently although he has never been given an extended run in the Indian ODI team. Pandey has scored 183 runs in 7 innings at number 4 with an average of 36.60.
- Shreyas Iyer – Shreyas Iyer may start playing at number four for India and is a classically sound batsman who can turn on the tempo whenever required. He has witnessed good growth at the Delhi Capitals under the guidance of Rocky Ponting and has captained the team impressively. He has scored runs for India A and across unofficial Tests and ODIs.
- Rishabh Pant – No doubt, the undisputed choice in case MS Dhoni remains in the playing eleven, Pant performed reasonably well at the 2019 ICC World Cup, scoring 112 runs in four games. Pant is an explosive batsman known for his exploits in the T20 format and has also played well in Test matches with an average of 49.71 in 9 games. If he improves his keeping, he will naturally be given a long run in the current Indian team for ODIs.
- Ajinkya Rahane – Rahane may be another option at number 4 although he has not been part of the ODI side for a long time now. Rahane has always been reasonably consistent and is a classical player with good timing and the ability to stay at the crease and accumulate runs. He also had a good County stint sometime back and the selectors may look at giving him a shot at number 4.