Asia Cup 2022: You need to sort it out as soon as possible – Saba Karim on finalizing India’s No. 4 batter

Former Indian selector Saba Karim reckons India needs to finalize their number four batter before the all-important T20 World Cup. India has been experimenting a lot in the recent past in their batting order and needs to stick to their guns.

The team has given opportunities to batters like Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer at number four. However, many cricket experts reckon that Suryakumar Yadav is best suited for the role but he had opened the innings in the T20I series against the West Indies, which created more confusion.

Karim believes India might need to make a choice between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in the playing XI.

Saba Karim said while talking to Sports 18, “Yes, you need to sort it out as soon as possible. But to fix the No. 4 position for a specific player, we need to get the balance of the side correct. When I say this, I mean they need to pick between Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant.”

“Once you decide on either of these players, then it is easy to slot in Surya at No. 4. It’s up to the team management to decide what is the ideal position for Suryakumar Yadav. If the team management feels No. 4 is the ideal position for him to come in, then the rest of the batting order follows.”

On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper batter Saba Karim reckons Indian bowlers have done a good job in the recent past. Rohit Sharma has the option of backing Hardik Pandya as the sixth bowler in the line-up.

“India has done well with five bowlers plus Hardik Pandya as the sixth bowling option. So would you like to break that kind of a combination and get in another batter in Dinesh Karthik at No. 7. That means you will go in with Hardik Pandya as the fifth bowler who is expected to bowl four overs.”

“Whatever I have seen from Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, I think he prefers to have five regular bowlers plus Hardik Pandya as their sixth bowling option. KL Rahul being the vice-captain, I look at him as an opener with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli at No. 3 and Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4.”

India has the right balance in the squad but they need to finalize their batting order. KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli are expected to be India’s top three batters and it will be interesting to note how the rest of the batting will pan out.