No batter has succeeded in settling into the vital number four slot in the Indian ODI team since the retirement of Yuvraj Singh, Captain Rohit Sharma said on Thursday, raising serious concerns before the World Cup. With the 50-over World Cup less than two months away, India are struggling to find a batter for the number 4 slot, something that has also troubled them in the previous edition in 2019 in England. The India captain said the percentage of injuries to players in key positions has hampered the team in the longer run. Shreyas Iyer, who is on a comeback trail after a long injury layoff, did well in his 20 matches at No. 4, scoring 805 runs at 47.35 with two centuries and five fifties. “But, for a long period of time, Shreyas (Iyer) has actually batted at No. 4 and he has done well his numbers are really good,” Rohit told reporters. “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,” he said. With both KL Rahul India’s preferred option for No. 5 as wicketkeeper-batter and Iyer on comeback trail, Rohit said they will wait and watch how these two players go. The Asia Cup is scheduled to be held just before the World Cup. Rohit wants some of the Indian players to bat under pressure situations in the Asia Cup.”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,” he said. “We have got a lot of names there. We will see that what is right combination for us to go in the World Cup but before we have the Asia Cup,” the India skipper said. “The selection (meeting) will be there in a few days, we will have a good debate about what we can do. But honestly nobody is an automatic choice they all have to fight for the spot, everyone has to, whether it is a top spot or a bottom spot. “They (Rahul and Iyer) have been at the NCA for the last four months, working really hard and it looks quite positive so we will keep our fingers crossed,” Rohit added.
