9 Reasons why Ravindra Jadeja should be tried at number 4 in ODIs

A decision by Sourav Ganguly to send Virender Sehwag to open gave Indian Cricket one of the most destructive openers of all time. Thanks to MS Dhoni’s decision to try Rohit Sharma as an opener, the latter is currently the only player to have three double centuries in ODIs. Now it’s time for Virat Kohli to do something like that may be by sending Ravindra Jadeja at number 4 in ODIs.

India has tried players like Ajikya Rahane, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik at number 4 spot since 2015 World Cup but no one made a major impact. Since Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with cancer after the 2011 World Cup, Indian team is in search of player of his calibre at this position.

Indian team should have solved 'number 4 puzzle' by now when 2019 world cup is just 9 months away. The question is why should India try Ravindra Jadeja at this position? Though he is not as solid as Yuvraj technically, but he has 3 triple hundreds to his name in first-class cricket which proves that he has that attitude of a proper batsman.

He has made his case even stronger after scoring his maiden International century against West Indies test at Rajkot. Now, here are the reasons and statistical comparisons that show why it is worth trying him at number 4 spot.

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#1 Better team combination

Team combination

Currently, India's bowling department consists of two-seam bowlers - 'Double B' Bhuvaneshwar Kumar & Bumrah, 2 wrist spinners - Kuldeep & Yuzvendra Chahal and an all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Barring Kedar Jadhav no other batsman can bowl few overs whenever the team is in need of sixth bowling option. It has been observed many a time now that Pandya is not a reliable bowler who can finish his full quota of overs in every game. That means India has to keep Jadhav in the team for his bowling.

Now, with Jadeja at number 4, the team can have another option in the spin department. Team combination can be altered based on the weather condition, pitch and the opposition. In seam-friendly conditions, a fast bowler can be added in place of either of the wrist spinner. Even Pandya can be dropped if the team has Jadeja as an all-rounder. Thus, the inclusion of Jadeja at number 4 gives a lot more flexibility in team selection.

#2 Comparison statistics of Jadeja with other all-rounders

Every team needs a genuine all-rounder for maintaining the balance of the team. Shakib Al Hasan is the number one all-rounder in the world right now. Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Hafiz, Mitchell Santner, Ben Stokes are the other all-rounders on whom their respective teams rely a lot. Now, let us compare their statistics:

Comparison with other all-rounders

Can Bangladesh or England think of sending Shakib or Stokes to bat at number 7 regularly? With batting avg. of 31.27 and 162 wickets in 139 matches, Jadeja has equal potential to be a genuine all-rounder for team India. In the above table, it is visible that Jadeja is comparable with other all-rounders in the world.

Still barring Santner, all the all-rounders play at a much higher position for their respective teams. No one doubts Jadeja's bowling abilities, but he can contribute more with the bat too. If he is given enough chances in the middle order, his figures can definitely improve. Moreover, he has that experience of playing at number 4 or 5 for his Domestic team Saurashtra.

#3 Can be groomed with senior players

Jadeja with seniors

India currently has a very experienced top 3 in the form of Rohit, Shikhar and Virat. Dhoni will bat mostly at number 5 or 6. So at number 4, Jadeja can bat with a lot of experience around him.

These senior players can guide Jadeja in building his innings. Dhoni can also give him valuable inputs about how to finish the games. Jadeja, having experience of 139 ODIs, has also started to know his game better these days.

#4 All-round package

Flying Jaddu

Apart from his accurate bowling and useful batting, he is a live wire on the field. Perhaps he is one of the best fielders in the world cricket at the moment. By his acrobatic fielding, he can save few runs, can be involved in effecting a runout or can take a stunning catch which may change the course of the game.

He can compensate for his failure in one department with performing in the other. Thus, he can be a complete package for the captain.

#5 Good player in middle overs

Jadeja- the batsman

Ravindra Jadeja made his International ODI debut in 2009 against Sri Lanka. Since then he has batted mostly at number 6 or below. With top-heavy Indian team, his role is to accumulate as many runs as possible in slog overs. But he has proven time and again that he can play proper cricketing shots as well.

In the recent Test match against West Indies, the first half of his inning showed his ability to rotate the strike, while in later part of his inning, he showed that he can hit a long way too. In recently concluded Asia cup, he played two back to back composed innings against Afghanistan & Bangladesh, where spending time on the crease was more important.

At number 4, he can take his time and can rotate the strike easily. He can also hit odd boundaries as well. After providing a solid platform, he can also switch gears. Thus, his batting has all the ingredients needed in the batsman at number 4 position.

#6 The recent improvement in his batting

Sword celebration

After the emergence of wrist spin duo, Jadeja has hardly got any chances in LOI cricket. But there is a remarkable improvement in his batting in red ball cricket and that has allowed us to witness his trademark sword celebrations many a time now.

He has admitted that he is taking his batting more seriously and he wants to contribute as a genuine all-rounder for the team. Nowadays his batting looks more stable and the team can rely more on his batting. A sense of maturity can be seen in his recent batting performances.

#7 India lacking left hand batsman in middle order

Jaddu at 4.

Currently, India is having only Shikhar Dhawan as a left-handed batsman at the top. Other batsmen in contention for number 4 slot are all right-handed. It is always a headache for opposition captain to manage left-right combination in the middle.

The same thing is applicable to his pinpoint accurate left-arm spin bowling which can control run flow from one end that forces batsmen to take chances against wrist spinners operating from the other end. Suresh Raina is the other left-hand option for number 4 slot but he is not doing any wonders in ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy to be selected for the national side.

#8 Proved his worth in English condition

There's no stopping this man!

Ravindra Jadeja was the part of both the Champions Trophy held in England and Wales in 2013 & 2017. He had won "Golden Ball" award by picking highest 12 wickets in 2013 version with the man of the match performance in the final. Though 2017 Champions trophy was a nightmare for him where he could take only 4 wickets in 5 games. As the upcoming world cup is in England, the experience of playing in English conditions can be helpful.

Jadeja was comfortable batting with tail in the only test he played against England this summer at The Oval where he made fighting 86* against the quality bowlers like Broad & Anderson. So India can expect more such performances from him in the upcoming World Cup.

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#9 Good prospective Investment

Jadeja performed well in Asia Cup in absence of Pandya, but when Pandya will return to the Indian side, the only slot left for Jadeja is at number 4 or 5. Still, it's a long way to go for Jaddu but if others are given fair chances at number 4, why can't team India try Jadeja at this spot? This can change the combination of final 11 of team India :

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, any 2 from Kedhar Jadhav/ Ambati Rayudu/ Hardik Pandya, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal/seam bowler, Jaspreet Bumrah.