‘Dekho yaar bahaana mat banaao’ – Fans react as Rohit Sharma talks about number 4 issue of Team India
India had tried more than 12 batters from 2016 to 2019 at number 4 in ODIs.
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Aug 10, 2023 8:36 pm
Rohit Sharma (Source: Twitter)
The Indian team had some fantastic batters over the years in One Day Internationals. In the recent past, India had some of its greatest ODI batters like Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni. When India won the 2011 ODI World Cup, there were some fantastic batters like Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, and MS Dhoni.
Even after the 2011 ODI World Cup, India had great batters in the One Day Internationals. But it was after 2015 that India struggled to find a permanent solution for the number 4 spot in ODIs. The absence of Yuvraj Singh and the lack of form of Suresh Raina and Ajinkya Rahane meant that India had to look for new options as India’s number 4.
India tried many names from 2016 to 2019 like Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, Ambati Rayudu, Rishabh Pant, Kedar Jadhav, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, and Dinesh Karthik were tried at the position. But no player got a long run at the position. The ones that got did not prove their consistency in the position.
‘Number 4 has been an issue for us’ – Rohit Sharma
An unsettled number 4 was one of the main drawbacks of the Indian team in the 2019 ODI World Cup. India tried to address the issue and backed Shreyas Iyer for the spot after the 2019 ODI World Cup. Iyer came good for India for a long time. But an injury earlier this year meant that the Indian team is again in search of a number 4 ahead of the all-important 2023 ODI World Cup.
Speaking about the issue, the Indian captain analyzed the situation. “Number 4 has been an issue for us, after Yuvi, nobody has come & settled – for a longer period, Iyer batted & did well at 4, his numbers are so good, but injury has given him trouble, so you always see a new guy batting at 4 in last few years,” said Rohit Sharma about the crucial position.
