India have been dominant in recent ODIs, but batting inconsistencies persist. Despite a strong home series against England, uncertainty surrounds key middle-order spots. The debate centers on KL Rahul’s selection over Rishabh Pant as the primary wicketkeeper and Axar Patel batting ahead of Rahul at No. 5.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar named Pant as the first-choice keeper, yet he didn’t play a single ODI against England. Sources suggest intense discussions in the selection meeting regarding Shreyas Iyer’s inclusion and the choice of the second wicketkeeper.
The debate escalated when former India coach Ravi Shastri, commenting during the second ODI, expressed surprise at Pant’s exclusion despite his talent. Having experienced major tournaments with an unsettled batting order himself, Shastri’s concerns carry weight.
Devang Gandhi, a national selector during Shastri’s tenure as India head coach, stated:
“Gambhir must be given due credit for working with a team in transition. He has got India dominating in the ODI format, much like India were doing from 2016- 2019. What the selectors and Gambhir need to be careful about is consistency in the middle order,” Gandhi told TOI.
India’s middle-order struggles in big matches
This refers to India’s batting failures in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan and the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand.
“The batting then was largely driven by the top three – Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. What happened then was nobody else got time to settle down from No. 4 onwards. The rest of the batting wasn’t sure of the role they had to play.”
“When the top order collapsed in those big matches, the rest of the batting looked clueless. Hopefully, it isn’t the case this time. If they have identified Axar as a No. 5 batter then they must look to give him a run at that number.”
“Axar has done well but the management has to decide if he is going to be a long-term option who can rebuild and dominate an innings till the 2027 World Cup in South Africa,” Gandhi said.
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