Team India: Middle-order problem persists; Who will get the chance if Rahul-Shreyas is not fit? Will Tilak be a surprise package?

Summary

Ahead of the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup, the middle order has become a headache for the Indian team management. Six players are contenders for numbers four and five, but the problem still needs to be solved due to the fitness of Rahul and Shreyas.

Expansion

There is not much time left for the upcoming Asia Cup and ODI World Cup to begin, but the middle order has become a cause of worry for the Indian team management. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma also admitted that the number four spot is an issue. Rohit said, 'The number four position in the batting order has been an issue for a long time. After the retirement of Yuvraj Singh, this is the only player who has been able to secure his place at this number, but Shreyas Iyer has been batting at number four for some time now, and he has also done well.

He said, 'Unfortunately, Shreyas was in trouble due to injury. He has been out for a while due to injuries that have happened for the last four to five years. Many of these players got injured, and in such a situation, the new player had to come down to bat at that place. However, Shreyas Iyer has been successful in the present time. He has scored 805 runs in 20 matches at number four, scoring two centuries and five half-centuries.

Suryakumar's total of 30 runs at number-4, Sanju was able to play one match.

Suryakumar and Sanju Samson are being tried at number four in Asia Cup and World Cup, but these experiments were successful. Suryakumar himself has admitted that his performance has been poor in the ODI format. Suryakumar has managed only 30 runs in this format at number four with figures of 13, 9, 8, 0, 0. At the same time, Sanju has played only one match at this venue. He scored 51 runs against the West Indies at this venue in this format and has played at the sixth position, the highest in this format.

Rahul-Shreyas's injury increased the problem.

Shreyas Iyer had done well for India at No.4, and Lokesh Rahul at No.5 in ODIs ahead of IPL 2023, but both of them have been injured, and both need to play matches and get in form before the World Cup. This is necessary for the team management to look for alternatives. If these two are not fit, Ishaan Kishan can be tried in the middle order. Tilak Verma can also be included as a surprise pack. Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav 

There was also an issue in the 2019 World Cup; it could not succeed.

India's performance in the 2019 ODI World Cup could have been better because the number four position for the team was still an issue. Rishabh Pant was tried in the 2019 ODI World Cup but could not score a half-century yet. Then Vijay Shankar was also fielded at number four in the same tournament, but he could only score 14 runs against the West Indies. When Hardik Pandya was sent against Pakistan, he was dismissed for 26 runs. When KL Rahul landed against South Africa, he was also dismissed for 26 runs. None of these batsmen could even score a half-century in this World Cup.

They can solve the problem.

Ishan Kishan and Tilak Verma, at the number four position, can solve the mystery of this position considering the current situation. Although Ishaan is an opener, he has played six times in ODIs at number four and scored 106 runs, including a half-century. At the same time, Tilak has not played in ODIs, but in the T20 series against West Indies, he showed his talent by playing quick innings of 39, 51, and 49* at number four. Ravichandran Ashwin has spoken to give former selector MSK Prasad Tilak a chance. However, the unique thing with both the batsmen is that both are left-handed batsmen and barring Ravindra Jadeja in the current team, there is no other left-handed batsman in the team.

Rohit said even my place in the team still needs to be confirmed.

Rohit said, 'Many players got injured in the last four-five years. When a player gets injured or is unavailable for selection, you try different things with different players. That's what I want to say for the number four spot in the batting order. Even when I was not the captain, I was looking at it. Many players have come and gone. Either he got injured, was unavailable for selection, or someone had lost his form. KL Rahul and Iyer, who have been India's priority as wicket-keeper batsmen, are gearing up for a comeback, and Rohit said it will have to wait and see how these two players perform. He said, 'No one's place in the team is confirmed; mine is also not there. Some players know they are going to play. In the three ODIs against the West Indies, we got a chance to try a few players. We have to face good teams in the Asia Cup as well. There is a selection committee meeting in the next few days, and there will be a good discussion on what we can do. We have many names. Before that, we will see what a good combination can be for the World Cup and the Asia Cup.