3 Batsmen who deserved more chances to prove themselves for the #4 spot in the Indian Cricket team

The ICC World Cup 2019 starts on 30th May 2019, and we can see all the teams sweating out to find the right combination. India and England go into the tournaments as favorites, but the other 8 teams are no less as well. Defending champions Australia will play their first Match on June 3 against Afganistan.

The Indian squad looks set and raring to go. The only issue for the men in blue has been their No.4 batting position and there have been continuous debates and experiments in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the same.

India has tried more than 10 players for this spot since the 2015 World Cup, but the answer has not been found yet. Recently, it was Rayadu whom the selection committee chose to play at that spot, but he did not yield an expected result as well. There are less than 3 months to go for the most prestigious ICC league in the world, but the team has failed to find a batsman for the Number 4 spot.

The middle order had delivered in the 1st ODI against Australia when MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav had put an unbeaten 139 run stand to get India home. But in the recently concluded 2nd and the 3rd ODIs, the middle order failed yet again and luckily there were king Kohli and Vijay Shankar, who saved India from humiliation on both the occasions.

The above instance is enough to prove how inconsistent India's middle order has been. Barring MS, no batsman has constantly scored runs, which is a big worry. Ambati Rayadu's recent scores have read as 13, 18 and 2. Kedar Jadhav has been silent since his match-winning 87 balls 81. The recent form of Shikhar has made matters worse. Therefore, it has become absolutely essential for the middle order to deliver now.

Although the BCCI has tried to give an opportunity to each and every deserving player, there have been the players who deserved more recognition and chances to prove that they can be the team's remedy for that continuous headache.

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#1 Ajinkya Rahane

Australia v India - Game 3

Ajinkya Rahane has been given only 10 innings at the No.4 spot since the ICC World Cup 2018. The right-hander has been impressive as well, scoring 420 runs at an average of 46.66. His overall tally playing at this spot is 843 runs in 25 innings.

However, he has been constantly ignored by the selectors. Although he is a vital link in India's test squad, he has been kept out of the scene in the ODIs. He had a superb performance in India's tour of Australia (tests), where he had scored 217 runs in 7 innings, at an average of 31. His tally also included 2 half-centuries one of which was a match-winning 70 of 147 deliveries in the first test against Australia.

Even after so nice outing in that series, he was ignored by the selectors for the limited overs series against Australia and New Zealand, that followed the historic series, which India won 2-1. Although his position in India's 15 member squad for the WC is highly improbable, he certainly deserved more chances.

#2 Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal has been one of the biggest rising talents. He has been one of the most consistent domestic players for Karnataka as well as India-A. He has scored 3372 runs for Karnataka in 73 matches, in addition to 3472 runs in 70 India-A matches he has played so far. In the 2017-18 domestic season, he scored 2141 runs and was the top scorer of the season.

His good performances saw his selection for Windies tour of India, however, he did not get to play any match. He got his 1st chance in the 3rd test against Australia in Melbourne, and he scored 76 and 42 in 1st and 2nd innings respectively, proving that his selection was totally correct. He scored another effortless 77 in the 4th test.

However, he was not picked in India's squad for the following limited overs fixtures against Australia and New Zealand. His 3 innings in those tests had clearly proved that he had the potential to be India's No.4, but he did not get any further chance. However, it is clear that he is the future of Indian cricket, and there is no reason to worry.

#3 Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer

Hailed as a replacement for Virat Kohli for Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2017, Shreyas made the full use of his opportunity, scoring 162 runs in the 3 match series, which included 2 half centuries. It largely seemed like he might be the perfect player for the No.4 spot.

He was given another chance against South Africa, during India's tour in that country. However, things did not go that nice for him in that series. He could manage only 42 runs in the 2 innings and was dropped from the team soon after that series. This was a shock for everyone, as he was continuously overlooked after that.

He had a phenomenal performance in the IPL as well, where he scored 411 runs in 11 innings, which included 4 50s as well. The best part of that was that his performance was not affected due to the role of captaincy. He won't be playing in the WC was sure, for his exclusion from the team was highly unjustified.