BENGALURU: The Indian think-tank has tried many players at the No 4 slot over the last two years, but no one has stood up to cement his place ahead of the World Cup. Eleven batsmen have featured in that slot since last year. Even the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have walked in after two wickets have fallen, underscoring the conundrum.
There was a point during the home series against West Indies when India seemed to have locked Ambati Rayudu as their No 4. Skipper Virat Kohli had openly backed him at that time, as Rayudu scored 217 — including a ton — in those matches. But his performances have been on the wane since, with just 247 in 10 innings, including 13, 18 and 2 against Australia last month. Rayudu’s exclusion for the last two ODIs of that leg seemed to all but convey that the race for No 4 was on again.
Though Kohli himself has said that IPL performances will not be a criterion for making the World Cup cut, candidates for this slot could be exceptions.
Rishabh Pant has already made an impression, scoring 153 in four matches. Former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth is also of the opinion that the youngster can be a game-changer at the World Cup.
“The only spot in the team which might be a bit confusing is No 4. If I was the captain or the Kapil Dev of 1983, I would go for a match-winner who can win games from no-win situations as well,” he said during the launch of the “Britannia Khao, World Cup Jao” campaign.
“While Dhoni will be the wicketkeeper-batsman, I believe Pant is a good cricketer. He got runs in England (last year). You should give him confidence and ask him to play his natural game. He can win matches on his own.”
Former India skipper Kapil Dev believes that the management should look at the situation during a match and send a player for that slot accordingly.
“There is a lot of talk about No 4. You have to see the situation at that moment. In our times, it was different. We were given a number. Today, from what I have seen, there is no number as such. The need of the hour is very important. You can send Dhoni... anybody. In fact, they are good enough. Numbers one to seven, they all can bat. Don’t get confused. Number goes by the situation of the match.”