There is no denying that India’s vulnerable middle-order was exposed in the recently concluded One Day International (ODI) series between the KL Rahul-led side and hosts South Africa. Appointed as India’s captain in the absence of injured opener Rohit Sharma, stand-in skipper Rahul opened the innings for India despite being successful at No.5 in the 50-over format.
Rohit’s injury also paved the way for a tried and tested Shreyas Iyer to feature in the middle-order batting department of the visitors. While stand-in skipper Rahul scored 76 runs, middle-order batter Iyer accumulated only 54 runs from 3 innings in the three-match ODI series between India and hosts South Africa. Indian wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant only crossed the 50-run mark in the 2nd ODI to sign off from the series as India’s third-highest run-getter.
Let down by India’s misfiring middle order, the Virat Kohli-starrer Team side failed to win a single match as the visitors lost the series 3-0. Speaking about India’s flop show in the recently concluded South Africa series, Indian batter Dinesh Karthik backed a star player to spearhead India’s middle-order in the 50-over format. The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper and part-time cricket pundit feels Ravindra Jadeja can solve India’s middle-order problems in ODIs.
“Definitely Jadeja is ready to bat at No. 6. In fact, I would say he is batting so well that he can bat at No. 5 as well. He’s using his brain, he’s not that reckless kid anymore who started. He is different now. He is somebody who is winning games with the bat and in fact, you might actually say that in white-ball cricket, his stronger suit is batting,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
Jadeja played no role in India’s white-ball series as the veteran all-rounder is still recovering from an injury. The Indian all-rounder had suffered a right forearm injury during India’s meeting with Kane Williamson-led New Zealand in the 1st Test match at Kanpur. The Indian southpaw was also not named in India’s white-ball squads for the upcoming series with the West Indies.
“The way Jadeja has played over a period of time, he is really batting well. You can make him bat at 5 or 6 and he will deliver consistently because he has a good head on his shoulders and he knows how to take the game deep. When it comes to 7 for Chahar and 8 for Shardul, again when those 2 are batting, it’s not bad. But you would still feel that you are a little light sometimes which is ok,” Karthik added.
