Ben Stokes should bat at no. 3: Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik has suggested that England should drop Dawid Malan and push Ben Stokes up to no. 3.
Malan's sluggish knock of 14 off 17 balls in the fourth T20I has come under the scanner, as the left-hander failed to get going after consuming a decent amount of deliveries. England fell to an eight-run defeat in the fourth T20I against India, which has now set up a mouth-watering series decider on Saturday.
Dawid Malan, who is currently the no. 1 ranked T20I batsman, has managed scores of 24*, 24, 18 and 14 in the four games so far, doing at a disappointing strike rate of 103.8.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Dinesh Karthik has suggested that England should reshuffle their batting lineup with Ben Stokes coming in at no. 3.
"I have nothing against Malan - I think he's a good player - but I think Stokes should bat at No 3, with the intent he showed, the way he was taking on the bowlers. If it was Roy, Buttler, Stokes, with Bairstow at No four and Morgan No 5, that's the way I'd look at it. That looks pretty solid to me." Karthik said.
Ben Stokes was England's top scorer in the fourth T20I in Ahmedabad, smashing 46 off 23 balls. The all-rounder surprisingly doesn't have a T20I fifty in his career, which suggests England aren't making the best use of his batting prowess.
England are not getting the best out of their best player: Robert Key on Ben Stokes
Former England international Robert Key also spoke about Ben Stokes not being optimally utilised by England in their T20I set-up
"I'm not sure I know the answer to this (on how England can use Ben Stokes better). But I do know is that they are not getting the best out of their best cricketer." Key said on Sky Sports.
Robert Key suggested that England should promote Stokes up the batting lineup, pointing out that the all-rounder has two hundreds in the IPL as an opener.
"If he's coming in for the first five overs as an opener, he has got two hundreds in that time in the IPL. His game, I think, is more suited to earlier on. His strike rate of 134 at no 6 (in the IPL) does not look too bad, but when you compare that to the best no. 6 in the world in T20 cricket, they are striking at 170-180 or somewhere between that. So we need to find a way somehow to get more out of Ben Stokes." Key concluded.
With the five-match series now tied at two games apiece, it remains to be seen if Eoin Morgan will look to shuffle his batting order for the all-important fifth game in Ahmedabad on Saturday.