Asia Cup 2018: 4 candidates to come in at No. 4 for India during the tournament

India has been searching for a proper No. 4 batsmen for four to five years now. Since Ajinkya Rahane played the role in the 2015 World Cup India are struggling to find a permanent batsman for that slot. India has tried as many as 10 batsmen since then at No. 4.

In this squad for the Asia Cup, there are a few best candidates for the No.4 slot in this Indian Team. So let's look at the 4 candidates to come in at No. 4 for India during the Asia Cup 2018.

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#4 Manish Pandey

Once he gets settled he has got the shots in the arsenal to score quickly

Manish Pandey with his unique batting technique is definitely a candidate to bat at no. 4. He is a very gritty customer, who needs time to settle in the crease. Once he gets settled he has got the shots in the arsenal to score quickly.

Pandey so far has played 22 matches for India in the ODIs. In those 22 matches, he had scored 432 runs at an average of 39.27.

Batting at No.4 he has made his career-best 104 not out against Australia in Sydney. He helped India chased down a big total in that match and finished the match quite brilliantly.

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#3 Dinesh Karthik

Karthik will look to seize upon the opportunity to cement his place in the Indian team

Dinesh Karthik has been around Team India for 14 years now. His place in the team has never been permanent.

With MS Dhoni in the team there was no question of him making in the team as a wicketkeeper but as a specialist batsman also he couldn't find his place.

After the heroic performance at the Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh in March this year it was expected that Karthik will be a regular in the playing eleven.

But he was again overlooked from the playing eleven in the T20s against Ireland and England.

Karthik had played only one ODI match this year. In 2017 whenever he got the chance he performed.

He averaged 61.00 in the 8 matches he played. Batting at No.4 he had some good scores in that period.

Karthik has come out to bat 15 times at No.4 and scored 325 runs at an average of 36.11 for team India. His experience and recent form make him a good candidate to bat at No.4 in Asia Cup.

#2 Ambati Rayudu

At No.4, Rayudu had scored 286 runs at an average of 40.86

Ambati Rayudu had a great IPL 2018 where he scored 602 runs at an average of 43. He was expected to be on the plane with his teammates for the tour of Ireland and England but a certain "Yo-Yo test" came his way.

Rayudu's record so far in the blue jersey has been excellent. In the 34 ODIs, he played he had scored 1055 runs at an astonishing average of 50.24. His strike rate is not that high but batting at no.4 you want some stability not only high strike rate.

At No.4, Rayudu had scored 286 runs at an average of 40.86. Batting at No.3 his average is much higher at 81.29 but he is definitely not a bad option at the No.4 slot as he is currently going through a golden patch.

#1 MS Dhoni

Dhoni could be the man to solve the No.4 conundrum for India

Without a doubt, the best batsman to come out at No.4 for India in the Asia Cup is MS Dhoni. In these five years had if Dhoni had come in at the position then we wouldn't have been talking about this topic now.

Dhoni averages 82.75 and 55.91 at No.3 and No.4 respectively. But still, Dhoni has batted only 16 times at No.3 and only 27 times at No.4 in his long 321 ODI matches career.

Whenever he has come out at No.4, Dhoni had amassed 1230 runs with one hundred and eleven fifties. His strike rate is 94.28 which is much better than the 83.28 when he comes in at No.6.

So every stats and every voice has been saying that Dhoni should be India's No.4. These days while batting he takes time to settle. So No.4 is the perfect position for him where he will get the time to settle and finish the game.