Having tried five players to bat in middle-order slot this year, Kohli and Co are yet to zero in on regular batsman
The dropping of Yuvraj Singh from the ODI set up has left India struggling to find a firm No. 4 batsman. India have tried five players – Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey and KL Rahul – in that slot from the fourth ODI in the West Indies in Antigua earlier this year.
Of them, four are involved in the ongoing series against New Zealand, the second of the three ODIs being played at Pune's Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday.
Trailing 0-1 after having lost to the Kiwis in the opening game in Mumbai on Sunday night, courtesy a brilliant chase anchored by Ross Taylor and Tom Latham, India need to win the next two to win the series.
For India to make their statement, the No. 4 slot is crucial and it is time they identified one.
There has not been a century from any No. 4 batsman in the recent ODIs. Yuvraj was the last to notch up one in that position when he made 150 in the second ODI earlier this year against England. Only two fifties have been scored there – Hardik Pandya's 78 against Australia at home recently and Karthik's 50* in the West Indies in July.
Karthik may well be that man at No. 4 and solve India's puzzle. He has the right temperament to hold the middle-order together as he showed it during his 37, though at No. 5, at the Wankhede on Sunday and shared 73 runs for the fourth wicket after Jadhav, sent in at No 4, managed only 12.
It was Karthik's comeback match in ODIs, having been left out of the series in Sri Lanka and against Australia at home. In his last ODI innings before this series, the 32-year-old from Tamil Nadu batted at No. 4 and scored an unbeaten 50 in a winning chase.
India may be experimenting with a number of players before zeroing in on a steady No. 4 going into the 2019 World Cup. It was here that Ajinkya Rahane was pushed up and down the order before they decided that the Mumbaikar was suited to the opener's role and not want to "confuse him" by playing in the middle order. It was also a role where they did not want to waste KL Rahul though the chairman of selectors MSK Prasad had said before ODI series in Sri Lanka that the Karnataka batsman would play at No. 4 in that position. That Rahul played only once at No. 4 showed that he was not suited there.
On the match eve, Kohli indicated that Karthik may provide the middle-order solution. He had said: "We need to strike that good balance regularly. For this series, Dinesh Karthik has come in for KL (Rahul). Dinesh has always played in the middle-order and is more comfortable and more aware of how to bat in the middle order, bring in guys who have the ability, who have done well in domestic cricket, who have done well for India 'A' and track their performances and give them chances accordingly."
Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said the No. 4 position has been a concern. "The team management and the selection committee are definitely concerned about it. That's the reason we are trying different options before finalising on the final squad for a major event," he said on Monday.
Ask Karthik if he could be the person suited for No. 4 and he gives a diplomatic reply. "At this point of time, I don't want to say I am comfortable at 4 or 5. From where I come, whatever opportunity is given to me by the coach and the captain, I am going to be honest in saying, 'yes, I am going to play, no matter where it is, I am at that stage that I can contribute wherever I bat. I want to keep concentrating on things I should be doing, rather than what will happen if I bat at 4 or should I bat at 5. I want to take the energy from that and focus on what I should do everytime I go out to bat."
Karthik's experience of having played in that slot in 11 innings of his chequered career of 73 ODIs spanning 13 years. Perhaps, giving him an extended run in the ODIs and trying him at two-down in the next few ODIs may well be the answer to the No. 4 conundrum.
Batsmen India have tried at No. 4 since Yuvraj Singh's last ODI:
Did you know?
The last No. 4 India batsman to score a century in ODIs was Yuvraj Singh, when he made 150 against England in Cuttack in January 2017
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