No 4 conundrum: Who will be India’s No 4 in Asia Cup 2023?

With just a week remaining before the start of the Asia Cup 2023, the Indian Cricket Team continues to face a stern challenge. The Number 4 conundrum has come back to haunt Rohit Sharma & Co. India hasn’t had a fixed No 4 player in ODIs ever since Yuvraj Singh called it quits. Thus, India has often focused on makeshift players. As India’s Asia Cup camp begins in Bengaluru, it is one area for Rahul Dravid to address. Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill or someone else, who will play at that spot?

With World Cup 2023 less than two months away, India doesn’t have time to experiment with their playing XI. The Men in Blue will lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan on 2nd September without KL Rahul, a potential No 4 option. Will Tilak Verma be India’s wildcard against Pakistan? It is an interesting question to ask.

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Now the inclusion of Ishan Kishan in the batting lineup can go on to potentially disrupt the entire top and middle order of the Indian lineup. The Southpaw is an explosive opener and has faired well quite a few times. His drawback, he is inconsistent. Can he play in down the order potentially at No 4? Yes and No at the same time. Before we venture more into this, let us check out some of the options that India has at No 4.

Shreyas Iyer

In an ideal world, Shreyas Iyer is the No 4 batter for the Indian contingent. The 28-year-old KKR skipper has both talent and experience on his side. But Iyer is returning from a long-term injury. His first return to International cricket after a long absence and that too against Pakistan can be a massive gamble.

Shreyas had suffered a back stress fracture injury and underwent surgery in London in April. As a result, he missed IPL 2023 and the all-important World Test Championship Finals (WTC Finals). But now the player has been declared fit for the Asia Cup 2023 as he continues to build his match fitness in the NCA.

He is the best fit at Number 4 who can dictate the innings should the top order fail. On the other hand, Iyer has shown over the years that he can build innings from scratch by stitching long innings with fellow middle-order batters. Despite his uncertainty in playing, Iyer remains India’s best bet to play at his preferred position.

KL Rahul

Though the Indian wicketkeeper will not be available for India’s opening match in the Asia Cup 2023 against Pakistan, KL Rahul is a strong contender to play in the number 4 spot. The LSG skipper who underwent surgery on his hamstring is recovering at the NCA. He will miss the opening game with a small niggle.

4 years back right before the ICC World Cup 2019, KL Rahul was the designated number 4 batter in the team, but after Shikhar Dhawan suffered a fractured thumb injury, KL Rahul was promoted up the order as he opened India’s proceedings with Rohit Sharma.

“We have not played many ODIs in the past 6-7 months, but if you look from 2020-21, I have kept wickets and batted at four. I have been assigned this role by the team. I don’t exactly know the reason for Pant’s release. The medical team will be able to tell why Pant was released,” KL said after the Bangladesh series.

KL is a recognised batter for India who flourishes well at the number 4 spot and therefore he becomes a strong candidate to compete at this specific spot.

Virat Kohli

Don’t be surprised to see Virat Kohli’s name on this list. It is a no-brainer that Kohli starts at his preferred number 3 spot in the team. But when there was uncertainty with KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer not being able to be fit in time for the Asia Cup 2023, Rahul Dravid did a small experiment in the India vs West Indies series.

In both the Test matches against the Caribbean opponents, Kohli gave away his precious number 3 spot to Shubman Gill. On the other hand, he himself played the number 4 role. In the first game, he managed to score a crucial knock of 76 runs. In the 2nd Test, in the first innings, he slammed a brilliant 121-run knock to showcase that he can get runs for his side batting in a spot that he doesn’t usually play.

What was the result of this experiment? It bore both good and bad news. The positive is that Kohli can adjust himself in his new role and get runs. The negative is that Baby Goat Shubman Gill failed drastically at number 3. In the first Test, he managed 6 runs and in the second Test he managed 10 runs in the first innings and 29* in the 2nd innings.

Asia Cup 2023 prep starts, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Team India jet off to NCA

Under dire conditions, Kohli can take the Number 4 role but in that case, Gill has to bat in Number 3. So then the question is who will open with Rohit Sharma, it will be Ishan Kishan. Rohit and Kishan’s opening can be a blessing in disguise as India can open their innings with a much-needed right-left-handed combo.

There are quite a few other wildcard candidates who can play at number 4 spot but those can be considered a rather far-fetched thought. Tilak Varma is one such name, but it would be unwise to give his ODI debut in such a big tournament.

India Squad for Asia Cup 2023:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Travelling stand-by player: Sanju Samson