CWC 2023: Yuvraj Singh calls for KL Rahul to bat at No.4 after Shreyas Iyer failure
Yuvraj Singh has called for KL Rahul to move up to No.4 in India’s batting order, after Shreyas Iyer was out for a two-ball duck on World Cup debut against Australia today (October 8).
Iyer was the third India wicket to fall in the first two overs of their chase. He picked out David Warner at short cover attempting to play an ill-advised drive with his hands well away from his body. His wicket was the third duck of India’s innings and left them at 2-3, their worst start ever to an ODI.
In response to the poor shot played by Iyer, former India batter Yuvraj Singh suggested on X (formerly Twitter) that Rahul should replace Iyer at four. He wrote “No 4 batsman has to absorb the pressure !! Need better thinking from Shreyas Iyer when team is trying to rebuild their innings! Still don’t understand why KL Rahul is not batting at No 4! After scoring a 100 against Pakistan!”
No 4 batsman has to absorb the pressure !! Need better thinking from @ShreyasIyer15 when team is trying to rebuild their innings ! Still don’t understand why @klrahul is not batting at no 4 ! After scoring a 100 against Pakistan ! Dropping @imVkohli might cost australia big time…
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 8, 2023
After Iyer was out, Rahul built a solid partnership with Virat Kohli to help India recover from their early losses. Rahul has batted at No.4 11 times in ODIs but has spent most of his career in the format at five. Across those 11 innings he averages 60.12 with two of his six ODI hundreds. The most recent of those centuries came against Pakistan in the Asia Cup where he scored 111 in another big partnership with Kohli.
Iyer has spent most of his ODI career at No.4 where he averages 43.35. While he has also scored two centuries in the position, the most recent of those was 12 months ago, with today his first half-century since then.
Yuvraj also referenced how costly Mitchell Marsh’s drop of Kohli could be for Australia in his post. Kohli was on 12 when he sliced a ball into the leg side for an easy chance. Both Marsh and Alex Carey converged on the ball but but Marsh eventually dropped the catch sliding along the ground.
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