No batter has succeeded in settling into the important quantity 4 slot within the Indian ODI group for the reason that retirement of Yuvraj Singh, captain Rohit Sharma mentioned on Thursday, rasing critical issues earlier than the World Cup.
With the 50-over World Cup lower than two months away, India is struggling to discover a batter for the No. 4 slot, one thing that has additionally troubled it within the earlier version in 2019 in England.
Shreyas Iyer, who has been out as a consequence of an extended damage layoff, did nicely in his 20 matches at No. 4, scoring 805 runs at 47.35 with two centuries and 5 fifties.
“Look, No. 4 has been an issue for us for a long time. After Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh), nobody has come and settled themselves in.
“But, for a long period of time, Shreyas (Iyer) has actually batted at No. 4 and he has done well — his numbers are really good,” Rohit instructed reporters on the sidelines of a LaLiga occasion in Mumbai.
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“Unfortunately, injuries have given him a bit of trouble; he has been out for a while and that is honestly what has happened in the last 4-5 years. A lot of these guys have got injured and you will always see a new guy coming and playing there,” he mentioned.
The India captain mentioned a spate of accidents to gamers in key positions has hampered the group within the longer run.
“The percentage of injuries that have happened in the last 4-5 years, it is massive. When the players get injured or are not available, you try doing different things with different players — that is what I have to say about No. 4,” he mentioned.
“Even before, when I was not the captain, I was watching no? There were so many guys who came in and went out. But injuries kept them away or they were not available or someone lost form,” Rohit added.
With each KL Rahul – India’s most popular choice for No. 5 as wicketkeeper-batter – and Iyer on the comeback path, Rohit mentioned India will wait and watch how these two gamers go.
“No one is an automatic (selection), even I am not. We have this thing where nobody is guaranteed a spot. We cannot say that ‘you are there after all’ or things like that,” Rohit mentioned.
“Yes, some players know that they are going to play but at this point in time, playing three ODIs in the West Indies was a good opportunity to look at a few guys. In the Asia Cup, again, we will face good opposition,” he mentioned.
The Asia Cup is scheduled to be held simply earlier than the World Cup.
“Shreyas and KL are coming off not playing anything for four months, big injuries, surgeries rather. Both had surgeries. I know, I had to undergo surgery once and how it feels afterwards, it is quite tough. We have to see, how they respond, what they do.
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“The selection (meeting) will be there in a few days, we will have a good debate about what we can do. But honestly nobody is an automatic choice – they all have to fight for the spot – everyone has to, whether it is a top spot or a bottom spot.
“We have got a lot of names there. We will see what is the right combination for us to go in the World Cup but before that we have the Asia Cup,” the India skipper mentioned.
Rohit mentioned he desires a few of the Indian gamers to bat beneath stress conditions within the Asia Cup.
“We will see, we want to win but at the same time there are a lot of questions that we need answers of. But in the Asia Cup, I want to see some of the guys batting under pressure against quality teams,” he mentioned.
“I still want to see those things, so we will wait and see what happens, but it is always nice to have a lot of names, rather than just one or two names. I hope they are fit in time – firstly that is the most important.
“They (Rahul and Iyer) have been at the NCA for the last four months, working really hard and it looks quite positive so we will keep our fingers crossed,” Rohit added.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com