The curious case of India's number 4

Rahane hasn’t been able to change gears at number 4 after getting very slow starts

The 4th number has always been a spot of bother for any captain. It is that position where a batsman is expected not only to get runs for the team but more importantly get them at a quicker rate to provide the lower order the thrust to go into the final 10 overs at a fierce rate.

It is no coincidence that AB de Villiers, Andrew Symonds, Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen and Scott Styris have batted at number 4 for their respective sides for a long period of time. Such an important position often becomes tricky for any captain, because it’s easy to find players who may get runs but the difficult part is finding someone who gets it at an energetic rate too.

At the moment, Indian cricket faces the same issue having been unsettled with Raina, Rahane, Rayudu and Dhoni himself been tried at that number. Unfortunately, none of them have been decisively successful. Raina has been relatively more successful at no 5 and 6, where Dhoni wants him to bat.

Rahane has batted too slowly or one can say maybe he takes too much time to settle and gets out just when he is ready to change gears. He may do wonders if he gets that opening spot, but it is quite unlikely to occur with Dhawan and Rohit firmly established. Rayudu hasn’t been tested much. He’s been decent at the 4th spot where he has scored 286 runs in the 10 innings he has played. However, the majority of his runs have come from two innings against a feeble West Indies bowling attack.

What India needs now is someone like Yuvraj Singh, who was rock-solid at that position. In his own words, MSD rightly pointed out that “I guess from 2005 onwards, Yuvi has always batted at No 4 and I also batted in that position for some time.” Yuvraj was someone who meant business as soon he was on the crease. Not only did he get runs for India at that spot, but what’s key is that he got those runs briskly. In the current squad, I see only Dhoni who can get runs at that spot consistently with a decent strike rate. But, then who would be there at number 6 when you need quick runs during the last 10 overs or so?

Yuvraj Singh was rock-solid for India at the 4th position.

Although he has been out of favour, the management has found it difficult to find a replacement for the batsman tailor-made for the number 4 slot and most of us do believe that Yuvi still has it in him to contribute to Indian Cricket.

You do have the likes of Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer and Mandeep Singh who have shown their ability to score quickly and sensibly, but it is too early to predict whether they will be effective at the International level. It’s up to the selectors to decide if they may reconsider Yuvi at that spot or find a youngster of such capabilities.