Why Dinesh Karthik is ideal for India's number 4 slot

The number 4 slot is one of the most important batting positions for any team. Virat Kohli has tried a number of players including KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedhar Jadhav and even Hardik Pandya in that position with little success and it is proving to be the team's achilles heel.

Pandey initially found success during the 2016 Australian series where he played a brilliant innings of 104* off just 81 deliveries to help the team chase 331 runs in Sydney. Later. though he was forced out with an injury and ever since his return he has not looked the same.

Ajinkya Rahane was recently given a chance in the South African tour at the number 4 slot and he had a great first game as he was involved in a match-winning partnership with Kohli. His performances in the remaining matches of the series though were below par.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik, the 32-year-old from Tamil Nadu has been vying for a place in the team and has been knocking on the doors of the selectors for the last 6 months on the back of his impressive domestic performances. Here are a few reasons he should be India's number four in the long run:

Form

Dinesh Karthik has been in red-hot form for Tamil Nadu

Karthik has been in spectacular form for the past 18 months. In the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 season, he scored 704 runs in 10 matches at an average of almost 55. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored 607 runs in 9 matches at a phenomenal average of 87.

In the Duleep Trophy, he scored 211 runs in 3 matches at an average of 52. He also scored 202 runs in 2 Deodhar Trophy matches at an average of 101. In the 2017 IPL, he scored 361 runs at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 140 and was among the top 15 run getters.

In the three opportunities he got with the Indian team, he failed once but scored a 50 not out in a winning cause in an ODI and also 48 runs off 29 balls in the only T20I against the West Indies. He was also given a run in the 3rd T20I against South Africa where he scored 13 runs in just 6 balls in the final overs.

Pandey and Rahul have performed poorly in comparison. Pandey has scored 205 runs in his last 11 ODI matches at an average of just 29. Rahul has been in poor form, scoring just 148 runs in the last 8 matches at an average of just 21.

Experience

Karthik has played at the highest level for the last 14 years

Karthik made his debut in 2004 and has a lot of experience when compared to the likes of Manish Pandey and KL Rahul. Karthik has played in 73 ODIs whereas Pandey and Rahul have played in just 18 and 19 ODIs respectively.

He has been a member of multiple World T20 and ICC Champions Trophy squads. All this will come in handy for Karthik ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

Finisher

Karthik has the ability to finish innings

The middle-order requires a batsman who can play both the sheet anchor role as well as the finisher role depending on the match situation. Pandey and Rahane, while they excel in the sheet anchor role, aren't quite comfortable in finishing the innings.

Pandey and Rahane have mainly struggled because of their inability to score quickly during the initial stages of their innings. Karthik, being a middle-order batsman even for his state team, is capable of accelerating at will.

Karthik has played this role throughout his career. In the 2017 IPL, he flourished in the finisher role while he performed exceedingly well as a sheet anchor for his state side throughout the last season.

Additional wicket-keeping option

Dinesh Karthik would act as a back-up to Dhoni

Come 2019, Dhoni would be 38 and fitness might be an issue. Karthik could help the team by not only replacing Dhoni when he is injured but also easing the burden of keeping. Rahul is a fairly decent keeper, but a proper gloveman who can perform well with the bat would be a better backup option.

Dinesh Karthik also has a good track record in England where the next World Cup is scheduled to be held. Moreover, he has been in contention for almost a year now and surely deserves a place in the Indian team considering the struggles of the existing batsmen.