Saba Karim has come up with a new option for the No.4 slot.
Since the retirement of Virat Kohli, a pertinent question has been about the No.4 spot in the upcoming Test series against England. Kohli has held this position since Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement and performed exceedingly well over the years, so the benchmark is high.
India’s newest Test captain, Shubman Gill, seems set to take this spot, as India enter a transition in the longest format. However, Saba Karim has come up with a new option for the No.4 slot, providing a fresh name for this arduous role in the upcoming rubber.
According to him, KL Rahul, who has been around the setup for a while, should replace Virat Kohli at No.4 in Tests. On NDTV, he labelled Rahul as an “ideal choice” and said that he can play the dual role from this position, setting his expectations high.
“Well, in the absence of Kohli, Rahul’s role is monumental. And I look at him as a batter who can bat at number four. I feel that KL is ideal to replace or take over the role of Virat Kohli at number four, because that number four, he can play a dual role of negotiating the early setback if that happens in the Indian side, and then he can carry the innings forward.”
KL Rahul has always been seen as a player who can be flexible with his batting position and used anywhere according to the team’s interest. However, that hasn’t reaped enough rewards for him in Test cricket, for Rahul has mostly been underwhelming in most batting positions.
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As an opener, he has 2803 runs at an average of 35.03 in 83 innings, including 14 fifties and seven centuries. He has played two innings at No.4, scoring 108 runs, but the sample size is too low to conclude anything.
Additionally, he has also batted at No.6 nine times, accumulating 234 runs at an average of 29.25, comprising one fifty and a century. So, while he has played different roles in his Test career, Rahul hasn’t reaped enough rewards at any position, even if he has played a few outrageous innings from time to time.
Anyway, the team should not change his role now and let him open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal, for that’s his best chance of succeeding. Rahul might be versatile in white-ball cricket, but his best performances are at the top only in the longest format, and he has previous experience opening the innings and succeeding in English conditions.
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