Former Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly has backed either of KL Rahul or Ajinkya Rahane to bat at No 4 in ODIs to solve the Indian middle order muddle.
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After dropping KL Rahul from the 3rd ODI, Virat Kohli said that it was a tactical decision as he had not been able to perform well after notching an unbeaten hundred in the first T20. His next 4 innings did not yield great results and hence he cannot exactly blame the team management for dropping him.
However, given the talent that Rahul has, India would certainly have thought of giving him a little longer rope if they wanted to give Dinesh Karthik a nod. They could have certainly played him in place of Suresh Raina.
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Ganguly has now come out in support of Rahul. He said, “Eyes closed, it’s KL Rahul at 4. Your top 4 have to be your best players and you’ve got to persist with them. Go and speak to KL Rahul and say, ‘I’ll give you 15 games. Just go and play.’ It’s a big issue, something that India will have to sort out. You have to have quality, England has quality.”
At the same time, Dada also did not keep Ajinkya Rahane – who is currently not in the scheme of things – out of contention .
“India need to find a number 4. I think two of your best batsmen are not being looked after properly. I’m not saying it’s deliberate. Maybe it’s a mistake, maybe when you look at things from the other side you look at it differently. But it’s my opinion, from this side of the ground, (either) of those two (KL Rahul or Ajinkya Rahane) have to play at 4 because it’s too much pressure for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli,” Ganguly concluded.
