Gautam Gambhir: "No. 4 should have been a settled position by now. It is a very important slot and you can’t have a floater at No 4 because the No. 3 and No. 4 makes the core of your middle order."

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir has criticised coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli for not identifying a proper number 4 batsman leading into the World Cup. He also was not very happy with captain Kohli’s move of benching Ambati Rayudu after three mediocre innings against Australia at home.

 

“If you want a settled batting order in the World Cup, then the No. 4 has to be decided beforehand and he should be backed completely,” Gambhir said.

 

The left-hander felt that the management should have given Rayudu a longer rope and should have stuck with him much in the same way they trusted MS Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan when they hit a rut in the recent past.

 

“You have backed others too. You backed MS Dhoni too last year and even Shikhar Dhawan. Ambati Rayudu averages nearly 50 in ODIs, he hasn’t done anything wrong. Failures are part and parcel of the game. You didn’t drop any other player after two or three failures,” said the former India opener.

 

Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri have advocated for a lucid batting order, but Gambhir wants a settled combination and believes that too much experimentation, chopping, and changing could lead to a lot of uncertainty in the squad.

 

“No. 4 should have been a settled position by now. Virat Kohli played the 2011 World Cup at No. 4. Whoever the team management decides to back should be backed to the hilt and they should stay patient with him. It is a very important slot and you can’t have a floater at No 4 because the No. 3 and No. 4 makes the core of your middle order,” he added.

[Ankit_sharma03]

2 minutes ago, TNAmarkFromIndia said:

 

“You have backed others too. You backed MS Dhoni too last year and even Shikhar Dhawan. Ambati Rayudu averages nearly 50 in ODIs, he hasn’t done anything wrong. Failures are part and parcel of the game. You didn’t drop any other player after two or three failures,” said the former India opener.

 

Dhoni n Dhawan are backed coz they have done something, rayudu cant n doesnt deserve same treatment. Yes a player does deserve backing but dont compare it to backing of ur main players

[sergio04]

virat kohli neither backed Ambati nor any other player

[DHONI_FANN]

Rayadud is supplying biriyani to GG too? 

[sscomp32]

2 hours ago, TNAmarkFromIndia said:

Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir has criticised coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli for not identifying a proper number 4 batsman leading into the World Cup. He also was not very happy with captain Kohli’s move of benching Ambati Rayudu after three mediocre innings against Australia at home.

 

“If you want a settled batting order in the World Cup, then the No. 4 has to be decided beforehand and he should be backed completely,” Gambhir said.

 

The left-hander felt that the management should have given Rayudu a longer rope and should have stuck with him much in the same way they trusted MS Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan when they hit a rut in the recent past.

 

“You have backed others too. You backed MS Dhoni too last year and even Shikhar Dhawan. Ambati Rayudu averages nearly 50 in ODIs, he hasn’t done anything wrong. Failures are part and parcel of the game. You didn’t drop any other player after two or three failures,” said the former India opener.

 

Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri have advocated for a lucid batting order, but Gambhir wants a settled combination and believes that too much experimentation, chopping, and changing could lead to a lot of uncertainty in the squad.

 

“No. 4 should have been a settled position by now. Virat Kohli played the 2011 World Cup at No. 4. Whoever the team management decides to back should be backed to the hilt and they should stay patient with him. It is a very important slot and you can’t have a floater at No 4 because the No. 3 and No. 4 makes the core of your middle order,” he added.

Lol He will keep the grudge till 3011. Revengeful idiot. 

[Khota]

Gambhir is my favorite cricket player. This time I do agree with him.

[Ankit_sharma03]

yes it shud have been settled long ago but wrong players were picked, right players werent backed

n gambhir u urself is giving a pathetic option

[Oldhere]

Can someone please tell me what GG's problem with Kohli is.

I know Kohli has many issues as captain but i always seem to think that GG is bitter towards Kohli and MSD.

MSD i can understand but why KOhli.

 

1 IPL fight cant be the reason.

Infact GG seems to be bitter towards Sachin too.

[vvvslaxman]

35 minutes ago, Oldhere said:

Can someone please tell me what GG's problem with Kohli is.

I know Kohli has many issues as captain but i always seem to think that GG is bitter towards Kohli and MSD.

MSD i can understand but why KOhli.

 

1 IPL fight cant be the reason.

Infact GG seems to be bitter towards Sachin too.

Not sure if this got something to do with him being kohli.  Gambhir raised the same concern that we all raise. I am a big fan of Kohli the batsman. Not so much of his captaincy. Apart from him backing the pace bowlers he hasn't done many things right. He relies on Dhoni or someone else to make onfield decisions. He is too hot-headed to make rational decisions on the field. Sehwag also has some issues with him.

[vvvslaxman]

Even if they have 10 more ODIs to go, they will not fix it. They might try Aushman khurana at no.4 just to piss us off lol

[Austin 3:!6]

Ideally Shubhman Gill should have been settled by now at no.4 and Prithvi Shaw as backup.

[wanted_desi]

Only If Kohli had a buddy or someone he can suck up to to remain good with that player's fan base...

[jalebi_bhai]

This is a problem that pre-dates Kohli. We still haven't properly replaced Yuvi since 2011. 

 

We've tried Rahane, Rahul, Rayudu, Pandey, Iyer, DK, Shankar, Pant......went back to Yuvi as well.

 

Team management is partly responsible for this. But how many of the above guys have actually been totally convincing and grabbed the opportunity? None if you honestly ask me.

 

PS: to the Vijay Shankar brigade, as impressive as he has looked with the bat, his shot selection is as dodgy as Pant's atm. 

[vvvslaxman]

1 minute ago, jalebi_bhai said:

This is a problem that pre-dates Kohli. We still haven't properly replaced Yuvi since 2011. 

 

We've tried Rahane, Rahul, Rayudu, Pandey, Iyer, DK, Shankar, Pant......went back to Yuvi as well.

 

Team management is partly responsible for this. But how many of the above guys have actually been totally convincing and grabbed the opportunity? None if you honestly ask me.

 

PS: to the Vijay Shankar brigade, as impressive as he has looked with the bat, his shot selection is as dodgy as Pant's atm. 

Shankar is a lower middle order batsman even for his state. I think he bats at 5 or 6.  Him clicking is just an accident. Probably they didn't expect him to click? Shankar playing better than the most 4 underlines how  the other choices were. Iyer, Gill, Rahul should have played all the pointless T20s that Dhawan, Rohit, Kohli were part of.

 

 

 

[Ankit_sharma03]

11 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

 

PS: to the Vijay Shankar brigade, as impressive as he has looked with the bat, his shot selection is as dodgy as Pant's atm. 

coz he played one bad shot in one game ......who doesnt do that. One game cant be the basis .......it was just lack of exp and even pant suffers from same. 

[Ankit_sharma03]

12 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

This is a problem that pre-dates Kohli. We still haven't properly replaced Yuvi since 2011. 

 

We've tried Rahane, Rahul, Rayudu, Pandey, Iyer, DK, Shankar, Pant......went back to Yuvi as well.

Rahul only has played 1 game at 4

shankar has not batted at 4 even once

 

u call that a chance

 

[vvvslaxman]

3 minutes ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

Rahul only has played 1 game at 4

shankar has not batted at 4 even once

 

u call that a chance

 

It all boils down to backing the wrong horse named Rayadu. 

[jalebi_bhai]

1 minute ago, vvvslaxman said:

Shankar is a lower middle order batsman even for his state. I think he bats at 5 or 6.  Him clicking is just an accident. Probably they didn't expect him to click? Shankar playing better than the most 4 underlines how  the other choices were. Iyer, Gill, Rahul should have played all the pointless T20s that Dhawan, Rohit, Kohli were part of.

Exactly. That's what he is. But posters on ICF think he is good enough to play in the position of a specialist batsmen. His shot selection in Ranchi and Delhi was indicative of his lack of temperament to play according to the situation. 

 

1 minute ago, vvvslaxman said:

Iyer, Gill, Rahul should have played all the pointless T20s that Dhawan, Rohit, Kohli were part of.

I agree. Kohli did skip Nidahas trophy, Asia Cup 2018, WI T20I series, second half of ODI series vs NZ, NZ T20I seies. Rohit and Dhawan missed none of them. Why?  

[vvvslaxman]

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/indian-team-management-may-use-vijay-shankar-as-surprise-element-at-no-4/story-FGpnekejxOMKmzXwTjfkAL.html

 

Every World Cup is known for left-field tactical moves and young Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar could well be the ‘joker in the pack’ if the Indian team management decides to try him at the tricky number four position in the upcoming World Cup.        ( Incompetency is labelled as tactic)

If the 2003 World Cup was about Dinesh Mongia being used as a spin-bowling all-rounder at the expense of VVS Laxman, dropped from the squad altogether, the 2011 edition had Yuvraj Singh being used as a fifth bowler in every match, yielding 15 wickets.

Heading into the 2019 edition in England, India are faced with the No.4 conundrum and a clearer picture will possibly emerge after the first three weeks of the IPL. The squad will be announced between April 15 to 20.

However, it has been learnt that the Indian team management is very happy with Shankar’s technique and more importantly his temperament in pressure situations.

Shankar’s biggest competitor could be Ambati Rayudu, who, despite a healthy batting average of 47-plus, is now slipping in the pecking order.

“Let’s get one thing clear. Ambati Rayudu has not inspired the highest level of confidence as number four after his 90 at Wellington. Things can still change if he has a good IPL but there has been a growing feeling that he is uncomfortable against anything above medium pace,” a source in the know of things told PTI on Tuesday.

A look at Rayudu’s ODI statistics reveals that most of his big knocks have come against comparatively weaker bowling attacks like Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and the West Indies.

It is understood that Shankar’s big-hitting along with his ability to at least bowl five overs have tilted the scales in favour of the Tamil Nadu player.

“There are two ways to look at Vijay Shankar’s elevation. The pros are that he has the ability to rotate strike and is also a power-hitter. At Wellington, he showed that he can tackle quality swing and has time to play pace. The flip side is only nine ODIs going into the World Cup. Will the team management take that risk? Let’s wait till IPL,” he said.

With Hardik Pandya certain to be India’s No.7 and one of the designated finishers, Shankar, Hardik and Kedar Jadhav (at No 6) could share the burden of 10 overs.

“We are sorted combination wise. We know our playing XI going into the World Cup. There will be just one change based on conditions.

“When Hardik Pandya comes back, he will give depth in batting and also open up options in bowling. We know where we are going. We are clear about our playing XI,” Kohli said after the last ODI against Australia.

The alternate arrangement could be skipper Kohli himself coming at No.4 and give KL Rahul an opportunity at one down. India tried that in Mohali during the fourth ODI without much success.  (   Hope this pathetic idea evaporates quickly)

Rishabh Pant is the choice of former Australia skipper and Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting and former India captain Sourav Ganguly.

The selectors or Team India’s support staff are not travelling during the IPL but they will be keenly monitoring the World Cup-bound players’ performances.

First Published: Mar 19, 2019 17:16 IST

[jalebi_bhai]

9 minutes ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

coz he played one bad shot in one game ......who doesnt do that. One game cant be the basis .......it was just lack of exp and even pant suffers from same. 

He did it twice in Aus series. At Ranchi and Delhi. Nidahas final is another example where he showed lack of batting temperament.

 

Yes, Pant has the same problem.