ICC ODI World Cup 2023: ‘We are facing the problem of the batsman at number 4 since Yuvraj Singh retired.’ After the ODI series against West Indies, Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s statement became very popular. After all, a population of almost 140 crores, more than 30 domestic teams, such a big and popular league like IPL. But a player was not found who could bat at number four permanently. Many keys were tried on this lock but it did not open.
Number four was an important question in 2019 as well
When the Indian team was leaving for England under the captaincy of Virat Kohli for the 2019 World Cup, this question was most important. Who will bat at number four? All the experiments were going on before the tournament. But the name of Ambati Rayudu was at the forefront of this. Rayudu’s performance was also satisfactory. But when the team was announced, Rayudu was not a part of it. What was the reason? No one knows this exactly. But Vijay Shankar, who was called ‘Tridimensional’ i.e. 3D player went in his place. But he too got injured in the middle of the tournament. Young wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant flew to London for the remaining tournament but the result was the same again. Neither purpose was served and that question was settled.
And after four years again the same question is who will bat at number four?
Rohit also understands the seriousness of this question and the importance of number four. But what should he do? There is a cloud of doubt over what seemed to be an answer, and Alternatives were tried, but they did not reach that limit. The team faltered badly after the top-order batsmen were dismissed in the 2019 semi-finals. Dhoni definitely worked with Ravindra Jadeja to handle it but in the end, things did not work out. So the captain knows what will be the danger of not having strength in the important link of the middle order. He’s seen it before his own eyes and When the World Cup is happening on his soil under his captaincy, Rohit would like to avoid it this time.
After all, why did Rohit remember Yuvraj?
Why did Rohit remember Yuvraj at number four? The answer to this is given by the statistics of this great all-rounder himself. The left-handed player played 108 innings at number four in One Day Internationals. Batting at number 4, Yuvraj scored 3415 runs at a batting average of 35.20. The strike rate is also around 90. To be precise, 89.44. During this, he scored 17 half-centuries and 6 centuries.
Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar also used to say about Yuvraj- ‘Sachin used to make Team India win matches from the top, but the team won from below (middle-order) after Yuvraj’s arrival.’ Ask Gautam Gambhir how big a player Yuvi is. He simply calls Yuvraj India’s most prominent player in white ball cricket without any hesitation. Bigger than Sachin Tendulkar. The reason for this was Yuvraj’s batting. He is standing firm in difficult situations and gets the team out of there. Be it pace or spin, Yuvi used to face all types of bowling very well. Apart from this, his bowling and fielding were terrific.
But what after Yuvraj…?
The void that has come after Yuvraj could not be filled. After being away from the game, Yuvraj himself once jokingly tweeted that the team did not want number four. After Yuvraj, India tried 10 batsmen at number four. These are the batsmen who have played at least five innings. These included players like Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Ishaan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Vijay Shankar and Suryakumar Yadav.
The experiments appeared to be successful to some extent. KL Rahul scored 241 runs in seven innings of 9 matches at number four. Also scored a century. His average was 40.16. However, Rahul became the contender for number 5 and he also made that place his own. At number four, the team got a batsman like Shreyas Iyer who is aggressive, stylish, and specializes in playing all types of bowling. Came out of the Mumbai School of Batting but understood and knew the modern pace, attitude, and style of the game.
Iyer scored 805 runs in 20 innings of 22 matches. His average was 47.35, which means that India was getting its answer in the form of these two. The middle order and especially the numbers puzzle was solved. But poor luck! Rahul suffered a thigh injury while playing in the IPL and Iyer suffered a back injury in the Test series against Australia in March 2023. That is, the team now had no way except to try.
Surya Kumar Yadav disappointed in ODIs
Suryakumar Yadav has created a blast in T20 cricket. Because of this, he was given a chance in ODIs. It was expected that the brightness of Surya would be seen here as well. The way he has become a terror for the bowlers in T20 cricket and a savior for Team India, the same will happen in the 50-over game as well. But Surya has not been able to crack this code. Surya’s vehicle is unable to match the speed of 50 overs. It looks like the car from the racing track has been dumped on the national highway. Surya never looked comfortable in this format. Surya’s average in 5 innings is only six. Which doesn’t show the picture of his ability.
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At the same time, Ishaan Kishan has scored only 50 runs in six innings at an average of 21.20. That is, this left-handed wicket-keeper batsman could not become the key to the middle order. Anyway, Ishaan is the opener. In such a situation, hope appeared in the form of Tilak Verma. He impressed in the recently concluded T20I series against the West Indies. He scored 173 runs at an average of 57.66 and a strike rate of 140.65 although both the formats are different. And we have seen the use of Surya, who created a ruckus in T20, fails in ODIs.
Tilak Verma became a strong contender
But captain Rohit Sharma has already praised Verma’s game. Coach Rahul Dravid is also very impressed with him. So will he be seen playing in the Asia Cup? Before this, the T20 series against Ireland will be under watch. There is not expected to be much difference between the Asia Cup and World Cup teams. Provided there is a positive update regarding the injured players.
