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With Virat Kohli’s sudden Test retirement just ahead of India’s much-anticipated five-match Test series against England in June 2025, questions about India’s middle-order stability have resurfaced. With the post-Kohli era now in full swing, India finds themselves in transition, and the No. 4 position, once a fortress under Kohli, needs stability, experience, and class.
Matthew Hayden suggests ideal successor to Virat Kohli at No. 4 in Tests
Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden, speaking on Star Sports’ Game Plan, strongly advocated for KL Rahul to step into Kohli’s former role at No. 4, calling the experienced right hand batter an ‘ideal,” fit for the position. He also emphasized that Rahul deserves to bat where the team needs its most technically sound batter.
“KL Rahul, he will open. I am just going to make that call. But my problem with that is I believe he is your best player in Test match cricket. He can be a like-for-like replacement of Virat Kohli, absolutely custom-made at No. 4,” Hayden said.
Though Rahul is expected to open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Hayden is concerned about his recurring dismissals early in the innings, especially in challenging overseas conditions like Australia and England, where the new ball swings and seams considerably.
“The reason why I don’t like him as an opening batter, and we saw this in Australia as well, is that he gets out 57% of the time caught behind, nicked off. So he looks so technically sound, how amazing is it, and then suddenly he’s out,” the former explosive southpaw pointed out.
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Strong numbers at No. 4 for India in Test cricket
Despite Rahul’s visual flair and orthodox technique, Hayden noted that his technical flaw against early movement leads to frequent edges to the slips and keeper, something that could be avoided by placing him in the middle order.
Backing his viewpoint with statistical reasoning, Hayden emphasized that Rahul has shown strong promise whenever he’s played down the order. Although Rahul has only batted twice at No. 4 in Test cricket, he has scored 108 runs at an average of 54.00, indicating potential for consistency in that role. Rahul also has a decent Test record in England, having played nine matches, amassing 614 runs at an average of 34.11, which includes two centuries. The Australian great further added that English conditions are dual-edged.
“That bit of protection around your best player, KL Rahul, is a sure thing in English conditions. Maybe the best place to bat in England as well. When the damage is done with the new ball, you can come in and you can just set out your stalls. It can be the hardest place to bat, and then it can be the easiest place to bat in the world as well when the sun is out and it’s shining. You are just there going, ‘Hello, I am batting all day here.’ To me, that’s the key point of difference,” Hayden concluded.
In the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy (2024–25), Rahul scored 276 runs at an average of 30.67 across 10 innings, including two half-centuries in the first three Tests. However, his form dipped in the latter half of the series, managing just 41 runs in his final four innings. These fluctuations, coupled with his struggles against the new ball, make a compelling case for experimenting with his batting position, especially in seaming conditions like Leeds, where the series will begin on June 20.
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