ICC World Cup: Unfair to ask Vijay Shankar to bat at No. 4?

MANCHESTER: Is the team management being unfair to Vijay Shankar by asking him to bat at No. 4, that too in a high-pressure event like the World Cup? Shankar is in the team as a batting all-rounder but is he cut out to bat at No. 4 in a high-pressure tournament like the World Cup?


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Normally, a specialist batsman mans this position. Redoubtable names like Ross Taylor, Eoin Morgan, Faf du Plessis, Steve Smith and Mohammad Hafeez are playing in this position for their teams at the World Cup. But thanks to Shikhar Dhawan’s withdrawal, India have been forced to juggle the line-up and go with what can only be called a makeshift arrangement.

Dhawan’s injury was a double blow for India – it meant the original No. 4, KL Rahul, had to move up to the opening slot which left the middle order open without the team having a suitable replacement in that spot.

India drafted Shankar in against Pakistan and he put up a fine show. But he was found wanting against Afghanistan and West Indies which is not for want of effort – he is a hard-working player who regularly toils at the nets to improve his game. The thing is Shankar does not tick the boxes as a No. 4 batsman.

Dinesh Karthik has been picked mainly as a batsman, but the team would rather go with Shankar as he also performs the role of the sixth bowler. The balance of the team looks a bit skewed at the moment – the team needs the sixth bowler but it also needs at least four or five proper, proven batsman each capable of playing match-winning knocks.

Against Afghanistan and West Indies, the combination India played did the job. But against better opposition, the ploy may not work. Both Afghanistan and West Indies flopped with the bat against India even though the targets they were facing were not daunting.

A team like Australia will be much better prepared to go for it. It’s likely to be hot and dry in England from now on, which probably will limit the influence of medium-pacers. Shankar’s role, in this scenario, may get curtailed. The team may want to look at options like promoting MS Dhoni to No. 4 or giving Rishabh Pant a game.

You don’t argue with success and the team has been winning everything so far at the World Cup. But if it wants to go the distance, it will have to beat the likes of Australia again.