Well, it's that time of the season again in Indian cricket. The ODI World Cup next year will be the talk of the town and grab all the headlines, and there might be one that has continued right from the build-up of the 2019 ODI World Cup.
Who will bat at number four for India? Looking at the way Dravid experiments, there isn't any surety as to who will bat at that spot, but let's look at the top three contenders.
Shreyas Iyer
Iyer has been in the form of his life in ODIs. He has been making runs for fun. In 14 innings in 2022, Iyer has smashed 721 runs at an astonishing average of 60.
He has a strike rate of almost 92, with six 50s, a solitary 100 against his name, with the highest score of 113. He has been the most consistent batter
Iyer, however, has played just 4 innings at number 4, but again, his highest score came at this very position.
Rishabh Pant
Pant has been not so consistent in T20 cricket, but his ODI returns have been relatively good. Batting at number 4 in ODIs in 2022, the DC skipper has aggregated 262 runs in 8 innings at an average of 37.
During this time, he has a solitary 100 and a fifty against his name. His highest score of 125 came against England in a match-turning and winning cause.
He is also a left-hander and bats at a strike rate of more than 100. All this could lead to the management giving Pant a go-ahead at the all-important number 4 slot.
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Suryakumar Yadav
Sky has been a force to reckon with in the T20 format. He has been so good that many cricketers have started calling him the best T20 player in the current times.
His ODI returns, however, have been far from his T20 exploits. At number 4 in ODIs in 2022, Sky has just 30 runs in 3 innings. Overall in 2022, Yadav has 262 runs in 12 innings at an average of 26. He just has a solitary 50 against his name.
The numbers put him behind Shreyas and Pant, but it will be up to the management as to how they see him in this format.
Whatever the ultimate decision, the management needs to arrive at a consensus quickly, so that the player can have a considerable time at that spot heading into the World Cup.
