Over the years, India have tried several batsmen at the no. 4 spot, including KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, and Manish Pandey. After a string of decent performances at the Asia Cup last year, followed by an impressive show against West Indies, Ambati Rayudu looked set to be the top pick for the position. The doubts raised in January after the ODI series in Australia were removed when the 33-year-old scored 90 and took his side to a match-winning total in the 5th ODI against New Zealand in February this year.
But after the recently concluded ODI series at home against Australia, the debate over the position has again reignited. The right-handed batsman scored 13, 18 and 2 runs, respectively, in the first three ODIs and was dropped for the next two games.
Despite the poor form, former Australia opener Matthew Hayden has named Rayudu as his pick for the position. Speaking in an interview to Times of India, the former left-handed batsman said: “Rayudu is my man. I can’t believe India is even questioning that. For so long, he has been so good. I don’t know why they are questioning, maybe because you need to speak about something before the World Cup.”
“I don’t see Rahul taking that slot as much as I admire him. His time will come and if anything he is more of a stand-by opener for me as opposed to the number four slot,” he added.
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