On Friday, Team India’s new batting coach Vikram Rathour opened up about solving the No. 4 conundrum. In World Cup 2019, India’s middle-order failed to click that eventually saw them losing the semi-final match against New Zealand. Post the World Cup, Shreyas Iyer was tried in the middle-order at No. 5. And he let his bat do the talking with a couple of half-centuries, scoring 136 runs in the two ODIs against West Indies.
Speaking to bcci.tv, Rathour mentioned that one of the areas that needed to be worked on was the number four spot in limited-overs cricket.
“It is not just about the World Cup. It is one slot (we must look at). The middle-order in one-day is not doing well and we must, of course, sort it out. Shreyas Iyer has done well in the last couple of games and we also have Manish Pandey. These two guys have done very well in domestic cricket and with India A. These are the batters who are capable of doing the job and I have no doubt about it in my mind. It is a matter of getting it right at the top level. We need to back them and provide them with the right preparations so that they can be there for a longer time. They have enough talent in them to do well.”
Openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal failed to form a solid partnership at the top of the order in the Test series against the Windies.
Regarding the batting woes at the top, the 50-year-old said that there was a fair amount of competition for the opening slot in the red-ball format.
“The other area of concern is the opening partnership in Tests. We have options and there is healthy competition. We need to find a way for them to be more consistent.”
India are all set to take on South Africa at home in three T20Is, starting September 15. The two quality sides will then face-off in a three-match Test series, from October 2.
