Asia Cup 2018: 4 candidates to come in at No. 4 for India during the tournament
India has been searching for a proper No. 4 batsmen for four to five years now. Since Ajinkya Rahane played the role in the 2015 World Cup India are struggling to find a permanent batsman for that slot. India has tried as many as 10 batsmen since then at No. 4.
In this squad for the Asia Cup, there are a few best candidates for the No.4 slot in this Indian Team. So let's look at the 4 candidates to come in at No. 4 for India during the Asia Cup 2018.
#4 Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey with his unique batting technique is definitely a candidate to bat at no. 4. He is a very gritty customer, who needs time to settle in the crease. Once he gets settled he has got the shots in the arsenal to score quickly.
Pandey so far has played 22 matches for India in the ODIs. In those 22 matches, he had scored 432 runs at an average of 39.27.
Batting at No.4 he has made his career-best 104 not out against Australia in Sydney. He helped India chased down a big total in that match and finished the match quite brilliantly.
#3 Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik has been around Team India for 14 years now. His place in the team has never been permanent.
With MS Dhoni in the team there was no question of him making in the team as a wicketkeeper but as a specialist batsman also he couldn't find his place.
After the heroic performance at the Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh in March this year it was expected that Karthik will be a regular in the playing eleven.
But he was again overlooked from the playing eleven in the T20s against Ireland and England.
Karthik had played only one ODI match this year. In 2017 whenever he got the chance he performed.
He averaged 61.00 in the 8 matches he played. Batting at No.4 he had some good scores in that period.
Karthik has come out to bat 15 times at No.4 and scored 325 runs at an average of 36.11 for team India. His experience and recent form make him a good candidate to bat at No.4 in Asia Cup.