India vs West Indies: Who will bat at number 4 in ODIs and T20s?
After a disappointing performance from the Indian middle-order in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, new faces were added in the limited-overs squad against West Indies to strengthen the middle-order. India will be without MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya against West Indies, so some talented batsmen will be required in the middle to guide the innings.
Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey have been rightly rewarded a place in the limited-overs squad owing to their tremendous domestic showings. They both have performed brilliantly in the recently concluded series against West Indies A. Both Iyer and Pandey are busy players as the two young batsmen have the proven ability to keep the scoreboard moving even under high-pressure situations.
Pandey has played 23 one-day internationals and has quite a decent average of about 37 with one century to his name. He has been a better batsman in T20s, averaging at nearly 42 and striking at 123. He has scored 538 runs in 23 innings for India. On the other hand, Iyer has better records in one-day internationals as compared to the T20s. With an outstanding average of 42, he has scored 210 runs in five innings.
With the return of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul can be demoted down the order. He is also a big contender for the number 4 spot. He looked more comfortable batting at No. 4 than opening the innings, where the moving-ball torment has made him a weaker force. Rahul also smashed a hundred at this spot in the warm-up match of World Cup 2019.
Rishabh Pant is another option for this spot. After taking over from Rahul in World Cup 2019, he had looked adequate at No 4, if only fleetingly. He seemed assured against the moving ball, but the tendency to throw his wicket away had experts wondering whether he was batting a spot higher than he should. He might be demoted down a spot in the absence of MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya.
Essentially, the three choices available for India for number 4 spot in the series are KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Manish Pandey. The management could potentially give Iyer a shot at the number 4 spot while playing Pandey a bit down the order, as he is capable of scoring a quickfire 30 or 40 runs. Despite being the third highest run-scorer for India in World Cup 2019, KL Rahul might have to give up a spot in playing XI in the initial phase of the tour.
India kick-off their long tour with three-match T20I series, with the first two being played in Florida on August 3 and 4, before shifting base to Guyana for the last game on August 6. The three ODIs will then follow from August 8, before the two-game Test series begins from August 22.
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