9 Reasons why Ravindra Jadeja should be tried at number 4 in ODIs
A decision by Sourav Ganguly to send Virender Sehwag to open gave Indian Cricket one of the most destructive openers of all time. Thanks to MS Dhoni’s decision to try Rohit Sharma as an opener, the latter is currently the only player to have three double centuries in ODIs. Now it’s time for Virat Kohli to do something like that may be by sending Ravindra Jadeja at number 4 in ODIs.
India has tried players like Ajikya Rahane, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik at number 4 spot since 2015 World Cup but no one made a major impact. Since Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with cancer after the 2011 World Cup, Indian team is in search of player of his calibre at this position.
Indian team should have solved 'number 4 puzzle' by now when 2019 world cup is just 9 months away. The question is why should India try Ravindra Jadeja at this position? Though he is not as solid as Yuvraj technically, but he has 3 triple hundreds to his name in first-class cricket which proves that he has that attitude of a proper batsman.
He has made his case even stronger after scoring his maiden International century against West Indies test at Rajkot. Now, here are the reasons and statistical comparisons that show why it is worth trying him at number 4 spot.
#1 Better team combination
Currently, India's bowling department consists of two-seam bowlers - 'Double B' Bhuvaneshwar Kumar & Bumrah, 2 wrist spinners - Kuldeep & Yuzvendra Chahal and an all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Barring Kedar Jadhav no other batsman can bowl few overs whenever the team is in need of sixth bowling option. It has been observed many a time now that Pandya is not a reliable bowler who can finish his full quota of overs in every game. That means India has to keep Jadhav in the team for his bowling.
Now, with Jadeja at number 4, the team can have another option in the spin department. Team combination can be altered based on the weather condition, pitch and the opposition. In seam-friendly conditions, a fast bowler can be added in place of either of the wrist spinner. Even Pandya can be dropped if the team has Jadeja as an all-rounder. Thus, the inclusion of Jadeja at number 4 gives a lot more flexibility in team selection.