Meanwhile, Matthew Hayden, a former Australian cricketer, has named explosive batsman KL Rahul as one of the options to bat in the position.
The Indian team is set for the five-match Test series against England. While the squads have been announced, it remains unclear who will play at number four in the forthcoming five-game tour, with Shubman Gill and Karun Nair emerging as front-runners to replace Virat Kohli.
Some of Indian cricket’s most iconic players, including Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, who recently retired from the game, have held the number four position. According to the team composition, Rahul may start the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Hayden, on the other hand, believes the 33-year-old might be an ideal like-for-like substitute for Virat at number four. The former opener also explained why he believes the Karnataka batter should not open with Jaiswal, particularly in England.
“I only have one more item to address. KL Rahul is going to open. I’ll just make that call. My issue with this is that I believe he is your best Test cricket player. He may be a like-for-like replacement for Virat Kohli, tailor-made at No. 4,” Hayden told Star Sports.
“The reason I don’t like him as an opener, and we saw this in Australia, is that he gets out 57% of the time caught behind or nicked off. So he looks so technically sound, it’s beautiful, and then he’s out,” he added.
KL Rahul is a guaranteed bet under English conditions: Matthew Hayden
Hayden backed up his assertion by saying Rahul is a sure thing in the challenging overcast conditions in the UK, and that he is now the finest player for India in Test cricket, and may require more protection. The cricketer-turned-commentator believes Rahul can play the ideal anchor role at number four if the damage has already been done with the new ball.
“For me, that piece of security around your best player, KL Rahul, is a given in English conditions, and it could be the greatest location to bat in England as well. When the harm is done with the fresh ball, you can come in and set up your stalls,” Hayden explained.
“It may be the most difficult place to bat, but it can also be the easiest place to bat in the world when the sun is out and beaming and you are just standing there saying, ‘Hello, I am batting all day here.’ That, in my opinion, is the most important difference. It won’t happen. I don’t believe it, but if I were a selector, that’s what I would do,” he said.
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