How have Team India’s No. 4 batters performed in ODIs since Yuvraj Singh’s exit?
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma recently candidly admitted that the No. 4 batting position is a key issue for them with the ODI World Cup just a couple of months away. He opined that since Yuvraj Singh’s exit, no one has been able to make the spot his own.
Rohit stated that Shreyas Iyer has done well at the position, but lamented the injury to him and a few others who have been tried at the No. 4 position.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a La Liga event in Mumbai, the Indian captain termed the percentage of injuries that have happened in the last four to five years as “massive” due to which the team management has to unable to zero in on any particular batter for the key slot.
Speaking of Yuvraj, he represented India in 304 ODIs, scoring 8701 at an average of 36.55, smashing 14 hundreds and 52 fifties. He played his last one-dayer against West Indies in North Sound on June 30, 2017. The southpaw scored 39 off 55 in what turned out to be his last appearance for Team India.
India’s No. 4s in the post-Yuvraj Singh era
Since Yuvraj played his last ODI, the Men in Blue have tried as many as 17 batters at the No. 4 position in ODIs. Shreyas has played the most games during this phase and has also scored the most runs. In 22 matches (20 innings) at No. 4, Shreyas has scored 805 runs at an impressive average of 47.35 and a strike rate of 94.37, with two hundreds and five fifties.
The right-handed batter has tasted success away from home as well, registering scores of 103, 52, and 62 in New Zealand during the one-day series in February 2020. He did struggle in Australia towards the end of the year, but regained form in the subsequent home series’. Shreyas notched up 80 and 113* in ODIs against West Indies and South Africa respectively.
Since Yuvraj’s last one-day game, India have also tried keeper-batter Rishabh Pant at the No. 4 slot in 16 games. The left-hander, who is also out of action due to the injuries he sustained in a car accident last year, has scored 492 runs at an average of 32.80 and a strike rate of 97.61.
Pant has got a number of starts, but has failed to convert them on most occasions. However, he has also played three highly significant knocks at the No. 4 position. The standout performance, of course, came against England in Manchester in July 2022 when he smacked 125* off 113 balls as India chased 260.
Pant also scored 78 off 62 against England in Pune in March 2021 and 85 off 71 vs South Africa in Paarl in January 2022.
Ambati Rayudu, who was shockingly omitted from the 2019 World Cup squad, is an interesting case. He batted at No. 4 in 15 ODIs, scoring 464 runs at an average of 42.18. He smashed 100 against West Indies in Mumbai (October 2018) and 90 against New Zealand in Wellington (February 2019). However, he was axed after three low scores in the home series against Australia ahead of the 2019 World Cup.
Veteran keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is another interesting name that features on the list. He batted at No. 4 in nine innings, scoring 264 runs at an average of 52.80. The stats are boosted by four not-outs. Karthik scored 50* against West Indies in Kingston in July 2017 and 64* against New Zealand in Pune in October of the same year. The right-hander got a number of starts in subsequent games, but could not convert them into big knocks.
KL Rahul, who is also on the injury list, has also batted at No. 4 seven times since Yuvraj’s exit. He notched up 108 against England in Pune in March 2021 and has got a few other starts. If fit, India could consider him as the No. 4 option for the World Cup.
Suryakumar Yadav a massive disappointment at No. 4
A lot of critics and former players have backed Suryakumar Yadav to be India’s No. 4 for the ODI World Cup at home. However, the worrying aspect is that the 32-year-old is yet to prove his credentials in the 50-over format at the international level. In five innings at the crucial No. 4 position, he has registered scores of 13, 9, 8, 0, and 0.
Team India have also tried all-rounder Hardik Pandya at the No. 4 slot, but he too has managed only one half-century in seven innings, although he has an impressive strike rate of 119.04.
Young keeper-batter Ishan Kishan too has struggled at the number. In six innings, he has managed only 106 runs at an average of 21.20 and a shockingly poor strike rate of 67.08.
Another keeper-batter Sanju Samson, who is also seen as one of the contenders, has played only one game at the No. 4 slot. He scored 51 off 41 in the third ODI against West Indies in Trinidad earlier this month.
Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Virat Kohli, Kedar Jadhav, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel are the other players to have batted at No. 4 since Yuvraj’s last ODI.