Asia Cup 2023: Will they make a comeback during Asia Cup? If not, then who will bat number four and keep wickets during World Cup 2023 is a big question that is bothering Team India. KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are racing against time to be fit for the Continental Cup, but if the duo won’t make it to the six-nation tournament, then their chances of making it to the ODI World Cup squad look very bleak.
While InsideSport reported that Rahul is almost certain to make it to the Asia Cup, there is still a lot of uncertainty over Shreyas Iyer, who still has persistent back problems despite undergoing surgery. While Rahul lends solid balance to the team owing to his wicketkeeping skills, and batting at number five, Iyer has been looked at as the number four option owing to his stellar performances last year in ODIs in the crucial role.
However, if both don’t make it to the Aisa Cup, then India are back in familiar territory – no solid number four and five to back Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. In Shreyas and Rahul’s absence, a few fringe players like Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav auditioned for the role, but none looked convincing.
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Asia Cup 2023: Will Shreyas and Rahul make it to the Aisa Cup squad?
For the uninitiated, before Shreyas and Rahul make it to the Continental Cup squad, they will play two practice games at NCA. While Rahul uploaded a video of keeping and batting, the picture looks bleak for Shreyas, as the NCA are a bit skeptical of the right-hand batter making it to the Asia Cup due to not recovering 100%.
India were looking at Asia Cup to field their strongest possible XI. However, that looks like a distant dream.
According to the Indian Express report, Ajit Agarkar will fly out from West Indies to India and will hold a meeting with other selectors to find the best way possible. With Iyer likely ruled out of the Continental Cup, Suryakumar and Samson will fight for one spot. Ishan Kishan will likely, keep the wickets as he has done well in the ODI series against West Indies by slamming three fifties.
However, the Southpaw opened and did not bat at number four. Kishan has a dismal record in ODIs at number four, averaging just 22.75 in six matches. That’s why India will be hoping Rahul gets fit, as he has pretty extraordinary numbers at number five, averaging over 45. But with no Iyer, the number four conundrum gets murkier yet again.
Surya has failed to live up to the expectations, and the only option is Samson, who has also been inconsistent. With only a handful of ODIs to go before the World Cup, India would be banking on Surya and Samson to own number spot, as Shreyas Iyer’s inclusion looks like a distant dream for World Cup.
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