Opinion Vijays form may decide No. 4 debate
It will an open debate for two slots,opening and No.4.
Now that the South Africa tour is officially on,and Team India are set to play two Tests and three ODIs in two months time,the selectors face a tough situation. It will be the first overseas tour for India after the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar and the No.4 slot will be up for grabs.
There is no doubt that Rohit Sharma is the clear-cut contender to replace Tendulkar,taking into account his current string of performances as Indias ODI opener. However,Rohit has also expressed that he is ready to take on the new ball across formats.
The West Indies series,which will mark Tendulkars farewell,will see MS Dhoni going with his regular Test openers in Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay. Both of them justified their places during Australias tour of India by scoring heavily and helped the side record a 4-0 whitewash.
Vijays form against the West Indies will give the selectors a heads up for the South Africa tour. Should he fail against the Windies,the selectors are going to be in a quandary,as it will then open up a debate for two slots,opening and No.4.
This could mean that Vijay may warm the bench if he isnt partnering Shikhar Dhawan in South Africa. In this case,owing to his experience while opening in ODIs,Rohit could take up Vijays slot. However,if it is the other way around,with India going with Vijay,Rohit might bat at Sachins position. But since Virat Kohli has cemented his place as Indias No.3 in ODIs,Dhoni might like to push him at No.4 in Tests as an experienced replacement for the Master Blaster.
These probable permutations seem to point out to a new dilemma. Is it still a question of who Indias next No.4 is or has the question already moved to who the next No.5 and opening batsmen will be?
(Siddhartha is senior correspondent based in New Delhi)
siddhartha.sharma@expressindia.com
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