World Cup 2019: Is the no.4 slot of Indian batting lineup slipping out of Ambati Rayudu's hands?
Just when everyone was getting convinced of the batting order India are likely to go with for the World Cup 2019, head coach Ravi Shastri stated that Indian skipper Virat Kohli might play at no.4 instead of his designated no.3 position. Shastri supported his statement by saying that it could be done to protect Virat Kohli from the early swinging conditions of the English wickets. But that statement raised quite a few eyebrows considering the fact that for how long India had to search for the no.4 batsman.
India had been searching for a reliable no.4 option in the batting order and plenty of batsmen had auditioned for it. The likes of Dinesh Karthik, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey and KL Rahul were tried and tested but none had delivered enough to convince the team management to seal the deal (apart from the fact that Rahul is now considered as the third opener) and their inconsistent failure opened up the door for Ambati Rayudu to make his mark.
A fabulous IPL season for Chennai Super Kings in 2018 earned him a recall for the national team. However, failing the yo-yo test compelled him to miss the England tour. He returned for the Asia Cup 2018 after clearing the test and performed brilliantly. He continued his purple patch, in the following ODI series against West Indies and even scored a hundred. Scoring with an average of 56.00 with a strike rate of 90.74 in 2018 made many to talk about Rayudu being the perfect fit for the no. 4 slot.
But that was the easy part. Tough conditions of Australia did take a toll on Rayudu's mettle. His weakness against fast bowling was exposed by the Australian fast bowlers which compelled the team management to replace him with Kedar Jadhav.
The New Zealand tour that followed too showed his vulnerability to swinging conditions. The only highlight of these two tours was the 90 run innings he played against New Zealand in the 5th ODI.
There is no doubt that Ambati Rayudu is an able player and has shown glimpses in the past. He has hard earned the no.4 slot. His ability to build an innings from early overs and to go hard at the end earned him this batting position. Added by the failures of the other batsmen tried at this position and Dinesh Karthik now designated as a finisher, India has continued with Rayudu at no. 4 to give him enough international game time before the World Cup.
With the emergence of Vijay Shankar and the fabulous form of KL Rahul, the no.4 slot is slipping out of Rayudu's hands with time. Both are capable of replacing him. To make the matter worse, his bowling has been banned by ICC due to a suspicious bowling action limiting his credibility in the field.
With scores of 13, 18 and 2 in the first three ODIs in the ongoing ODI series against Australia, Rayudu has further damaged his chances. And given the decision of including all the three openers in the playing XI or playing with an extra all rounder or Virat Kohli at no. 4 might show him the door.
All he can do now to retain his place by playing an extraordinary innings like the one he played against New Zealand earlier this year and have an outstanding IPL season before the World Cup 2019.