New Delhi: Prior to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held at home in October and November, India captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged a significant problem for the team.
With less than two months until the start of the Cricket World Cup, Rohit Sharma acknowledged that India's problems with the No. 4 spot in ODIs remain unresolved.
The captain expressed worry about the important position, saying that "after Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh], nobody has come and settled themselves in." Prior to the most recent World Cup for fifty-over cricket in England, the position was also a hot topic of discussion.
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“Look, No. 4 has been an issue for us for a long time," Rohit told reporters on the sidelines of a La Liga event in Mumbai, while going on to state that Shreyas Iyer has good numbers at the position.
"For a long period of time, Shreyas (Iyer) has actually batted at No. 4 and he has done well — his numbers are really good.
“Unfortunately, injuries have given him a bit of trouble; he has been out for a while and that is honestly what has happened in the last 4-5 years. A lot of these guys have got injured and you will always see a new guy coming and playing there.”
"The percentage of injuries that have happened in the last 4-5 years, it is massive. When the players get injured or are not available, you try doing different things with different players — that is what I have to say about No. 4,” he said.
Only Iyer and Rishabh Pant have batted more than ten times for India in ODIs since the conclusion of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, out of the 11 players who have been used at No. 4. Pant, however, has been disqualified from the World Cup, and Iyer has not yet made a recovery from a back injury.
"There were so many guys who came in and went out. But injuries kept them away or they were not available or someone lost form," the skipper said.
"Shreyas and KL are coming off not playing anything for four months, big injuries, surgeries rather. Both had surgeries. I know, I had to undergo surgery once and how it feels afterwards, it is quite tough. We have to see, how they respond, what they do."
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The selection meeting for the Asia Cup will be held in a few days, Rohit continued, adding that neither he nor anyone else is guaranteed to play in the competition.
"We have got a lot of names there. We will see what is the right combination for us to go in the World Cup but before [that] we have the Asia Cup."
He also made a suggestion that some of the players will feel pressure to perform well at the Asia Cup because there are World Cup spots up for grabs.
"We will see, we want to win but at the same time there are a lot of questions that we need answers of. But in the Asia Cup, I want to see some of the guys batting under pressure against quality teams.
"I still want to see those things, so we will wait and see what happens, but it is always nice to have a lot of names, rather than just one or two names. I hope they are fit in time – firstly that is the most important."
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