During his tenure as India’s coach, Sandeep Patil attempted to do something that is perhaps still considered revolutionary or foolish – depending on who you are speaking to. While the team was in the dressing room, Patil would insist that everyone in the team was padded up. His motivation for the act was simple: he wanted anyone and everyone to be ready to go out and bat at a minute’s notice. It was his way of throwing the opponents off.
Of course, that was 1996 when such tactics were not taken to kindly. Players took a certain amount of pride in their batting position and they didn’t like that being tampered with. The result of Patil’s actions was that several players, including four seniors, went up to the Board of Control for Cricket in India and asked for Patil’s removal. Almost overnight, Madan Lal was appointed as the new coach.
Now, in 2017, Patil would be grinning from ear-to-ear. The reason? Virat Kohli’s comments.
After the 5th One-Day International against Sri Lanka recently, Kohli had said that now there was consistency in the top order, the next step was to introduce flexibility and the X-factor.
Flexibility the X-factor
“Once we start playing like this and get more confident with the roles that we’re given, then we can be more unpredictable,” Kohli had said. “With the kind of talent that we have in the side if we can be unpredictable as well, then it becomes a lethal combination. Teams will find it difficult to set a pattern against us and we’ll always stay ahead of the game or at least try to. More often then not we’ll end up executing those things.”
Kohli’s idea of unpredictability is to have a flexible batting order. Exactly, what Patil had been advocating back in 1996. Since the start of 2017 – India first decided to give Yuvraj an extended run at the No 4 slot but by the time the West Indies tour came along, the left-hander had run out of rope.
The elevation of Hardik Pandya was yet another stage of the floating No 4 experiment. Coach Ravi Shastri wanted to take the spinner out of the equation and the all-rounder responded in kind. But the experiment – and we must call it that – is far from over.
Take a look at some numbers:
The No 4 batting position since the start of 2017
1st ODI vs Eng: Yuvraj (15)
2nd ODI vs Eng: Yuvraj (150)
3rd ODI vs Eng: Yuvraj (45)
ICC Champions Trophy, vs Pak: Yuvraj (53)
ICC Champions Trophy, vs SL: Yuvraj (7)
ICC Champions Trophy, vs SA: Yuvraj (23)
ICC Champions Trophy, Semi-Final: DNB
ICC Champions Trophy, Final: Yuvraj (22)
Since the Champions Trophy, India have tried out six batsmen for the slot...
1st ODI vs WI: Yuvraj (4)
2nd ODI vs WI: Pandya (4)
3rd ODI vs WI: Yuvraj (39)
4th ODI vs WI: Karthik (2)
5th ODI vs WI: Karthik (50)
1st ODI vs SL: DNB
2nd ODI vs SL: Jadhav (1)
3rd ODI vs SL: KL Rahul (17)
4th ODI vs SL: Pandya (19)
5th ODI vs SL: Pandey (36)
1st ODI vs Aus: Pandey (0)
2nd ODI vs SL: Pandey (3)
3rd ODI vs SL: Pandya (78)
It is still to early to say whether the experiment is working and whether this will be the way to go in England, where the ball might swing during the World Cup and batting at No 4 might not be as straight-forward.
In 11 matches since the start of the year, Yuvraj scored 372 runs at 41.33. But the law of diminishing returns applied. In the three matches that were played in India, he scored 210 runs @ 70. In England (during the Champions Trophy), he scored 105 runs @ 35.00. In West Indies, he scored 57 runs in 3 matches @ 19.00. There were other issues – his fielding and fitness aren’t quite where they should be.
Still nowhere closing to solving the conundrum
Yuvraj’s replacements haven’t quite set the world on fire either. Batting in India or against Sri Lanka isn’t quite the most testing exam at the moment. Still, the men who have been tried at No 4 after Yuvraj have collectively made 210 runs in 10 innings. These 210 runs include Pandya’s 78 and Karthik’s 50.
To be clear, despite Pandya’s mature 78 against Australia in the third ODI on Sunday, India are nowhere close to solving the conundrum. As far as results go, India have had a great run but the contribution of the No 4 batting position has been minimal.
It has helped that in the same period (since Jan 1, 2017), Dhoni has rediscovered his touch. In 21 matches, he has scored 635 runs at an average of 79.37. These are runs that allow the team management the flexibility to try out things but do they have a time frame in mind?
In a sense, give this experiment a go early is a great idea. If it is an idea to be discarded, then it has to be done early. Then again, if it is something to be persisted with – players will need time to respond not just with runs but also with consistency. This is the Twenty20 age and everyone is used to the idea of going in there and playing the big shots without fear. But to do it with overs in hand is a different challenge.
On the team management’s side, the experiment will demand giving the team a rare sense of freedom. The players have to be allowed to bat without being weighed down by what they have to do. It will also mean trusting the intelligence of the players. Yes, Shastri sent Pandya out to attack the spinners but what if the Aussies decided to go with pace? That kind of match awareness is something that each and every player will need to develop.
The truth about cricket is that it – like every other sport – makes itself on the field. And in that, the players will have to share not just Kohli’s dream for the position but also respond in deed. The job might be far tougher than Kohli makes it sound but there will be the hope that Pandya’s knock will make more people believe in it. And isn’t that how everything begins. Some hope and lots of belief.
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