MSK Prasad admits his concern over the No. 4 slot in the Indian batting line-up

The chief selector of the Indian ODI team MSK Prasad has admitted that the team management is concerned over the no. 4 slot in the batting line-up. Men in Blue are on a winning spree in the limited overs format but the crucial middle order spot is still up for grabs as Manish Pandey failed to latch on to the opportunities in the recently concluded series against Australia. However, Dinesh Karthik has been awarded a chance for his decent show in the domestic cricket and also impressed with 37 runs on Sunday albeit at no. 5.

Since 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, the Indian team has tried as many as eleven players at 4 and no one has been consistent enough at the position. It could be argued that few of those players weren’t given a longer rope but the problem continues to haunt India. Also in the first ODI against New Zealand, Kedar Jadhav was promoted up the order and he too failed to grasp the chance. Though it remains to be seen if he is persisted with the same position in Pune in the second ODI on Wednesday.

KL Rahul unlucky to miss out

MSK Prasad has urged that the selection committee is willing to try out different players in the middle order which looks brittle as of now before sticking to a specific squad. “The team management and the selection committee — all of us are definitely concerned about it. And that’s the reason we are trying before a big event (World Cup 2019) comes up or before we finalise a final squad for a major event,” he said while addressing the media on Monday.

He also admitted that KL Rahul was unlucky to miss out on the spot in the limited overs format. “Till then, we will try out different options, guys who are there are some of the guys, who are doing (well) at India A, we will keep trying options before we close on a particular squad. The potential that Rahul has, it is unfortunate that we are not able to accommodate him. So we tried him at the number 4 slot and unfortunately that it did not work out but basically we know that Rahul is an opener. Since Ajinkya Rahane has done well, it makes sense to continue with Rahane and bring in a specialist at No 4 spot,” Prasad continued.

The former Indian cricketer also cleared the air that the captain and the coach only suggest the players they want and the final call is taken by the selection committee. He was also upbeat about the workload of the players. “With regards to our relationship with the team management, it has been cordial so far. There are speculations that the team management is dominating, which is not right. They are very much on advisory board and that’s all. This selection committee takes the final call. We work in unison. Considering the workload and the international schedule that we have right now, we are definitely rotating the players, and it’s too premature to say right now as to whom we are (resting) and if you see the pattern with which we are selecting,” he concluded.