Players who have played at number four for  India since Virat Kohli took charge

With the Cricket World Cup only a few months ago, every team is in the process of fine-tuning their squads. It will only be fair to say that India is relatively better prepared than some other teams. One of the glaring issues is the middle order which has been a cause of trouble for a long time, however. The root cause of the problems lies in India's failure to find a number four. With time fast approaching, it has become a cause of a massive headache for Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri.

In the ongoing series against West Indies, Ambati Rayudu became the ninth player to bat at the position in Virat Kohli's reign as captain. Prior to the match, the Indian captain called him "the right person" for the role. While Rayudu did impress in the Asia Cup, it is the first time since his comeback that he has played at number four.

But why has India struggled with the position? Here is a look at who has played at number four for India since Virat Kohli became a full-time ODI captain.

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#1 Yuvraj Singh

As soon as Kohli took charge of the limited over's team, Yuvraj Singh earned a recall to the side. The left-handed all-rounder is one of Indian cricket's greatest servants. In the shorter formats, history will remember him as one of the greatest match-winners India has ever had. The man from Punjab was India's best player in 2007 T-20 World Cup and 2011 Cricket World Cup. However, ever since his unfortunate battle with cancer, he has not hit the same heights.

A recall to the Indian side for the England series in 2017 was a debatable selection. A superb knock of 150 at Cuttack was a reminder of Yuvraj's best days. This led to a place in the Champions Trophy side for Yuvraj Singh. In his career, Yuvraj has scored 3415 runs at the position at an average of 35.20. No player has played more games at number four since Kohli's appointment than him.

In 10 matches, Yuvraj scored 358 runs at an average of 44.75 at a strike rate of 97. While these numbers sound good enough on the outset, these are heavily influenced by the century in Cuttack and his quickfire half-century in the opening match of the Champions Trophy. Apart from those two knocks, Yuvraj did not even score a 50 in any game.

The 2011 World Cup's Man of the Tournament was taking too long to accelerate and hurting India's momentum in the middle overs. Above that, having a 36-year-old was never a long-term solution for India with his fitness and agility issues.

#2 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik is one of Indian cricket's most fascinating stories. The Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper made his international debut in 2004. 14 years later, he is still around the national team but is again trying to establish himself in the team. India's troubled middle order has resulted in multiple recalls for the 33-year old. Having played in 86 ODIs, Karthik has only 1663 runs to show with an abject average of 30.79. Through his career, Karthik has played at number four 18 times, scoring 426 runs at 38.72.

Nine of those occasions have come in the last couple of years in Kohli's reign. In this run, Kartik has scored 264 runs with an average of 52.80. While these numbers look extremely impressive, he does not find a place for himself in India's squad for the West Indie series. His last six games have not seen a single half-century.

A deeper look at the numbers shows a terrible strike rate of 71.35 in the nine games. As the game against Afghanistan and final against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup exhibited, Karthik was ineffective in rotating the strike or keeping the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs. Perhaps playing him as a finisher where he did so well for Kolkata Knight Riders in last year's Indian Premier League will be a role better suited for him.

#3 Ajinkya Rahane

In the 2015 World Cup, it was Ajinkya Rahane who walked in to the bat at number four. However, in the following days, the team management was not convinced by his suitability for the role. Former Captain M.S Dhoni openly questioned the Mumbaiker's ability to rotate the strike in the middle order. Rahane has spent the last couple of years primarily as a backup opener. Since he took over, Virat Kohli made it clear that the team management only sees him as an opener.

However, the series against South Africa this year saw a U-turn as Rahane returned to the number four slot. In five innings, the Test team's vice-captain scored 140 runs with the highest score of 79 at a rather unimpressive strike rate of 76.

Overall in his career, Rahane has made 843 runs while batting at number four at an average of 36.65. Arguably, Rahane is the most consistent player among the players the team has tried at the spot. However, the position has never seemed the right fit for him. His strike rate, batting at number four is 83.71. All through his career, Rahane's strike rate in the format is 78.63. While one of India's most technically astute players, he struggles to rotate the strike and accelerate the scoring rate. Hence, India has had to look for other options at number four.

#4 Hardik Pandya

This may come as a surprise to many but Hardik Pandya is next on the list of most opportunities at number four in the past two years. The all-rounder has walked in to bat five times at the position scoring 150 runs with a phenomenal strike of 106.38. While Pandya offers India an interesting option to surprise oppositions between matches due to his ability against spin, its hard to see India make it a permanent solution.

Firstly in the rare case, India do lose two quick wickets, Pandya is not the ideal player to have at the crease. Also, the Men in Blue do not have enough firepower in the lower order to afford Pandya to bat at a higher position.

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#5 KL Rahul

The sight of KL Rahul warming the bench is one that frustrates Indian fans. The talent of the top order batsman from Karnataka is evident to everyone. However, the formidable opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma make it difficult for him to break in the team. But Rahul is someone who can bat at number four as he successfully exhibited in the 2016 IPL for the Royal Challenger's Banglore.

The Indian team has given him sporadic opportunities to play at the position in 50 over cricket. Rahul has walked out to bat four times at number four for India scoring only 26 runs. These opportunities seem too less to judge a player. One wonders if giving Rahul an extended run could have solved the problem for India. Without a a doubt, the Kings XI Punjab opener is the most technically astute player around. However, it looks like India have decided to have Rahul in the squad only as a reserve opener.

#6 M.S Dhoni

A big reason behind India's middle failing is the fact that M.S Dhoni is simply not the same player as before. The former Indian captain has lost his big hitting prowess and India cannot rely on him completely as a finisher. Dhoni's batting position has been a source of massive debate. For most of his career, Dhoni has batted at number six, but it now looks to low for him.

In the last couple of years, Dhoni has walked out to bat at number four three times and scored 48 runs. The lack of an experienced finisher has resulted in India trying to stick with him at his normal position. However, if India can sort that issue out, Dhoni at number four could be an ideal solution. All through his career, Dhoni has played 29 innings in the position scoring 1271 runs at a strike rate of 94.71.

However, another problem with Dhoni's game in the last few years is that he takes too much time to settle in. Since the 2015 World Cup, Dhoni's strike rate has fallen to 81.52 with an extremely high dot ball percentage. The number four position requires someone to quickly rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard moving. Doubts behind Dhoni's ability to do it is a big reason behind Kohli not giving him more opportunities at the spot. Although, if India continues to struggle to find a viable option, their best alternative will be Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

#7Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has been in and around the Indian ODI team for a while now. His stupendous form for India A ensured a return for him in the India team. Despite constantly showing his ability in domestic cricket and IPL, Pandey has failed to set the world on fire in international cricket.

In ODI cricket, Pandey has scored 440 runs in 23 matches at an average of 36.66. His average at number four is a similar 36.60 with 183 runs in eight innings. However, most of those runs came in his century against Australia in 2016 at SCG. Since the start of 2017, Pandey has batted thrice at number four where he scored only 39 runs. While Pandey has all the attributes to excel at number four, he is yet to show it in the International level.

#8 Kedar Jadhav

Over the last couple of years, Kedar Jadhav has made a name for himself. Showing himself as a handy lower order batsman and partnership breaker with the ball, Jadhav is certainly India's preferred number six in ODIs.

The team management has also tried Jadhav at number four but to no avail. In four innings at the position, Jadhav only scored 18 runs. While the 33-year-old is an important member of Virat Kohli's team, number four is certainly not the position for him in the batting unit.

#9 Ambati Rayadu

With an unbeaten knock of 22, Ambati Rayudu became the ninth batsman to play at number four in Virat Kohli's tenure as captain. Year after year, Rayudu has proven himself in IPL and made a case for himself. He finally earned a recall for himself in the Asia Cup where he played at number three in the Indian captain's absence.

Scoring 175 runs at an average 43.75 in six innings ensured he retained his place. Going into the World Cup, Rayudu is in driving place to secure the role. In his ODI career, Rayudu has walked in to bat 13 times at number four where has scored 308 runs at an average of 44. The Indian fans will watch keenly whether Rayudu can finally cement his place in the national team.