"If I had played 49 games in one batting position, I would have played 149 or 249 games" - Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa believes that not playing in one batting position hurt his chances of cementing a spot in the Indian national team in the past.

The Karnataka batsman highlighted that he never batted in the same position for three games in a stretch in his entire ODI career.

Robin Uthappa has played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India. The batsman was a crucial part of India's T20 World Cup win in 2007. However, Uthappa never really managed to seal his place in India's ODI team in the long run.

The 35-year-old said he would have played over 100 or even 200 games for India if he had batted at a fixed position.

"That's happened to me my whole international career (batting lower down the order). If you look at my stats, you would notice that I haven't played at one batting position for more than three innings. Every third innings, I was moved to another position. I reckon the fact, I played 49 games (46). If I had played 49 (46) games in one position, I would have played 149 games or 249 games. Because I know I'm that good. I did that at the point in time because the team needed it. But it affected my personal statistics or career," Uthappa said in a chat with The Grade Cricketer podcast.

Happy birthday to Robin Uthappa!He was a part of India's successful 2007 @ICC Men's #T20WorldCup campaign and was among their top five run-scorers 👏 pic.twitter.com/32I6NUL1Hc

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 11, 2020

Uthappa's last ODI appearance came against Zimbabwe in 2015, where the batsman scored 31 while batting at No. 3. India went on to win the game by a comfortable margin of 83 runs.

A look at where Robin Uthappa batted in his ODI career

Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa played 46 ODIs for India and got a chance to bat in 42 of them. The batsman played most of his games as an opener, playing 16 innings at the top of the order.

He scored 408 runs at an average of 25.50 while opening for India, including four half-centuries. The other position where he batted a lot was No. 7, where he played eight innings, amassing 185 runs at an average of 30.83.

The next slot where he batted the most was at No. 3. In seven innings at No. 3, Uthappa scored 144 runs at an average of 20.5.

Uthappa also had five & six outings at No. 5 & 6, respectively. His highest average at a batting position is at No. 6, where he averages 56.50. However, his numbers at the position were inflated because of his four not outs.

Robin Uthappa's best ODI score of 86 came as an opener in the 2006 ODI series against England.

Robin says 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹 up y😷ur masks cause it's high time.#WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/x1Mhk9PIbu

— Chennai Super Kings - Mask P😷du Whistle P🥳du! (@ChennaiIPL) April 29, 2021