Making a comeback into the Indian team is not an easy task. If one is getting back in as a pure batsman, that task becomes even tougher because there are always a talented few waiting on the wings. And then, to bat at No. 4, a position that has been difficult for India in the ODI format post the 2015 World Cup, it's even more tougher.
Dinesh Karthik
To his credit, Dinesh Karthik handled all that pressure well yesterday, scoring an unbeaten half century to see India home against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium here. It wasn't Karthik's most fluent innings; boundaries didn't fly off his bat from the word go.
In fact, he hit only four fours in his 92-ball stay at the crease on a track where scoring got tougher as the ball got softer. India has tried different players in the crucial No. 4 slot in the ODI side across the last couple of years.
KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav have been given sporadic opportunities in that spot in the recent past. But neither of them have been able to make that spot their own. "I have to win more matches, when the required rate is high. I need to score more boundaries and win those games," Karthik said.
Though it's a long way
before Karthik seals this slot, for now, he seems to have earned a few more games for himself in that position.
