Cricket World Cup 2019: Why Indian Batting Is In A Deep Hole

After the Australia ODI series, India captain Virat Kohli revealed that the team for the upcoming World Cup is all but confirmed, probably except one spot. Now, it has become an open secret. Everybody now knows he was talking about that contentious number four, where India have tried many players in the recent past. It sure is one riddle which is yet to be solved.

The number four conundrum continues to haunt the Indian camp. In the recent five-match ODI series, captain Virat Kohli found himself batting at that position, sacrificing his preferred number three spot for the team. The move allowed KL Rahul, an otherwise silken batsman, to bat at the position. But that didn't solve the problem. Rahul failed, so thus Kohli. It's too early to sound the death knell after a single match, but the setting and timing of that tweak in the batting order was fraught with danger. It was in the last ODI series before the World Cup.

The Ambati Question

Before the Australia series at home, India seemed to have found the answer in Ambati Rayudu; but again, it proved only a temporary measure as India tried others like Vijay Shankar and Rishabh Pant too. Shankar did manage to earn accolades with his ability to read situations and play accordingly, but he seems to lack the authoritativeness of a top-middle order batsman. Then there's was Pant's case, the so-called heir apparent to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's legacy. The youngster's flamboyance proved his undoing, and not everyone's comfortable with the flashy play. And here, we are talking about the 'backbone' of the team.

With the waning influence of former captain Dhoni in the batting order, the position becomes even more critical for the Men in Blue.

Kohli Can't Always Save India

An unsettled number four means that the team doesn't have a strong backbone. In the recent ODI series against the Aussies, Indian openers uncharacteristically failed to lay the foundation in some of the matches, thus exposing the middle order.

Thankfully, the skipper was there to cover up, as seen in the second and third matches – hitting back-to-back centuries – which didn't unnecessarily result in winning causes. But, any pragmatic side will take such situations as live examples, and the Indian camp sure knows about it. Number four remains a big hole. They have a couple of months to sort it out, and without any ODI match. That automatically brought the Indian Premier League in the focus.

The Legends' Take

Former opener Gautam Gambhir found fault in India's preparations, and said that “If you want a settled batting order in the World Cup, then the No 4 has to be decided beforehand and he should be backed completely."

He felt that India should have given a longer rope to Rayudu, like they have backed Dhoni and opener Shikhar Dhawan.

"You have backed others too. You backed MS Dhoni too last year and even Shikhar Dhawan. Ambati Rayudu averages nearly 50 in ODIs, he hasn’t done anything wrong. Failures are part and parcel of the game. You didn’t drop any other player after two or three failures," HT quoted Gambhir as saying.

"No 4 should have been a settled position by now. Virat Kohli played the 2011 World Cup at No 4. Whoever the team management decides to back should be backed to the hilt and they should stay patient with him. It is a very important slot and you can’t have a floater at No 4 because the No 3 and No 4 makes the core of your middle order," he added.

Legendary Aussie opener Matthew Hayden has also backed Rayudu, even though he admires Rahul's talent.

"Rayudu is my man. I can’t believe India is even questioning that. For so long, he has been so good. I don’t know why they are questioning, maybe because you need to speak about something before the World Cup. I don’t see Rahul taking that slot as much as I admire him. His time will come and if anything he is more of a stand-by opener for me as opposed to the number four slot," Hayden was quoted as saying in the TOI.

Former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting, however, suggested India to go with Shreyas Iyer.

"They tried a few even during the recent Australia series. Rayudu was there, Rishabh, Shankar. They could have also have tried Shreyas Iyer. He is a very good player. He has had a great domestic season. I am excited to catch up with him. It’s an interesting conundrum; maybe, they can fit in KL Rahul in that spot," Ponting told TOI.

But former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who will team-up with coach Ponting as an advisor at Delhi Capitals, even suggested the name of Cheteswhar Pujara's name.

"See, I am going to say something that might not sound believable to many viewers and a lot of people might laugh at my suggestion. But for me, Cheteshwar Pujara should be India’s No 4 in ODIs. His fielding might be a bit weak but he is a very good batsman. I know people will be shocked by my claim but if you want a quality batsman who is better than the options India has tried of late, I think Pujara is the best choice," Ganguly told India TV.

India do have a settled top three, if Kohli bats at number three, and also a proven bowling attack. But the uncertainty surrounding number four is making one great team a questionable outfit.

Are India Still The Favourites?

Until recently, India and England were the teams to beat in the format as the World Cup looms. But after the Australia series, India seemed to have compromised their batting 'order' despite the presence of undoubtedly the best batsman in the world, while England continue to justify the ICC rankings by sheer batting audacity.

Other teams have glaring deficiencies too but the manner in which India's gaping wound was exposed during the series against an understrength Australian team certainly makes the case a curious reading. After all, India are the favourites. Winning and losing is a part of the game, but the favourites should not have chinks in their armour. 

England and India enter the World Cup as the two top-ranked teams.

Meanwhile, the world's top cricketers will be busy in the cricket festival called IPL which will help national teams deflect real concerns for some time with the help of glitterati and seemingly irrelevant stats. Come May 30, teams will turn up with their best available line-ups. Until then, it's all guesswork - the so-called permutations and combinations.

Probably that's what Indian team is doing at the moment, with an extra dose of public opinions.