DHARAMSALA: Since the 2015 World Cup, India have tried Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and even KL Rahul in the middle-order. All-rounder Hardik Pandya too has been used as a floater at No 4, 5 and 6 like the Greg Chappell era, there seems to be no designated slot for anyone from 4 to 7. Though Chappell did that to make players versatile and for flexibility in the batting order, the current shuffling has got more to do with not finding a perfect fit.
India went to Champions Trophy without addressing this and almost got away with it. But they know they can’t afford a repeat if they want to win the World Cup in 2019. The tournament is still some time away, but that is hardly sufficient enough period to find a player and give him an extended run. This process is what MS Dhoni believed in, and though Virat Kohli is not against it, it’s mostly him or the top order making up for the gaps in the middle. This has made the team dependent heavily on the top three.
As India head into the three-match ODIs series against Sri Lanka, the search for the right No 4 and 5 continues. With Kohli rested, Mumbai’s Shreyas Iyer is the likeliest of candidate to take his slot at No 3 and it was no surprise to see the 23-year old among the first batch of batsmen taking guard at the nets on Saturday. At the moment, more than No 5, the No 4 slot is a more discussed topic, and Shreyas could be that missing piece of the puzzle.
An attacking batsman, who likes to take the game to the opposition, Shreyas has been groomed for this role for sometime in the India A set-up. Though he like Kohli has batted mostly at No 3 for his state side, having him at 4 wouldn’t be a bad idea, with Pandey or Karthik at 5 and Dhoni at his designated No 6 slot.
Pandey and Jadhav have been tried out in the middle with mixed returns and Karthik, who played against New Zealand at No 4, has not done too badly for a player who has rarely got an extended run as a batsman. Rohit Sharma, who would be leading the side in Kohli’s absence, said the team management is thinking of giving players time to find their feet.
“It is important to give these players a fair amount of chances going forward and build their confidence. Guys like Shreyas, Manish and Kedar have not got enough games on the trot to get that confidence. We as a team management want whoever gets the opportunity plays a number of games. If they want to prove themselves, they must have games under their belt. Having said that, they completely understand the need to prove themselves because there is intense competition in the middle-order. It’s up to them to perform when they are given that opportunity. We don’t want to put pressure on them and carry the burden in the middle,” Rohit said.
MSK Prasad, the chief of the selection panel, revealed after naming the squad for the Test tour of South Africa, that the uncertainty in the middle-order has been taken into account and even the selectors are in constant touch with the team management.
Jadhav out, Washington in
Washington Sundar has replaced Kedar Jadhav in the ODI squad. Jadhav has suffered a hamstring injury during practice. Washington had earlier been named in the T20 squad. Shikhar Dhawan too is uncertain for Sunday’s match. He had fever on Friday and did not bat for long at the nets on Saturday.
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com