India's middle-order is the weak point, says Sanjay Manjrekar

With the World Cup taking place in May-July, all eyes in Indian cricket will now turn to the IPL. With at least a couple of spots in the squad up for grabs, the IPL performance might make the final decision in choosing the players in the best form. One spot in the playing XI that is far from cemented is the crucial No. 4 position, with many experts presenting their viewpoints on who they think would be the ideal man for the job.

Sanjay Manjrekar went for Vijay Shankar on the strength of some of his recent showings. “India has great bowling and good batting class at the top but the middle order is not the same league and that will be the underbelly as we go to the World Cup. But amongst the options, I think Shankar looks the most exciting. He would be my No.4. The Indian team management would be a little worried because the World Cup is in England. If the World Cup was in India maybe Ambati Rayudu would have cemented his spot,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo. 

With the squad not yet fully decided, 21 players have represented India in the final 13 ODI games before the World Cup. But Manjrekar says it’s not the selectors’ fault. “I won’t fault selectors or team management for trying so many players. No player has grabbed those opportunities. I am talking of consistency and being able to play different roles at no.4. It’s a little disappointing.”

Manjrekar speaks about India’s chances in the World Cup

The other crucial call the selection committee has to make is to pick one of Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik as MS Dhoni’s back up wicketkeeper-batsman. Manjrekar is clear Karthik is not the man for the job in 50 overs cricket. “Dinesh Karthik has played a lot of cricket and we know what he can and cannot do. I don’t think he has it in him to take the team ahead to 300 after you have lost two early wickets. So he was never in my ODI team,” Manjrekar argues. “Pant might have that thing. But even with him, I am not as excited.”

However, Manjrekar is convinced India remain the team to beat at the World Cup “India is the best team in the format in the world. A game-changing bowling attack with quality spin, one of the all-time great ODI batsman (Virat Kohli), also Rohit Sharma. Just the middle order is not the same. So I maintain India is the strongest team. But whether they can win the World Cup is another thing. It depends on how they will fare on the night of the semis or the finals,” Manjrekar concluded.

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