Hard to say why people haven’t nailed the No.4 spot, says Dinesh Karthik

Hard to say why people haven’t nailed the No.4 spot, says Dinesh Karthik

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Dinesh Karthik has stated that he is unsure why no batsman has been able to seal the No.4 spot in Indian the team but remains confident that his experience will help him succeed in that role. Karthik has been brilliant for Tamil Nadu and has also excelled for India this year whenever given a chance.

Quite unbelievably, India have experimented with 11 different batsmen in the number four position in the past two years. And the fact that they are yet to settle on someone at their spine and still winning matches almost effortlessly, is a huge secret.

Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya - many have come and gone without enjoying any longevity in the crucial No.4 role. The winning run regardless of it has encouraged the board to continue their reckless experiment with the position. However, with Raina and Yuvraj pretty much out of the equation ahead of the 2019 World Cup and Pandya establishing himself as a finisher under MS Dhoni’s tutelage, young Pandey has only one competitor for the spot, who keeps coming back for contention time and again - Dinesh Karthik.

32-year-old Karthik is entering a crucial stage of his national career where India are scheduled to play a host of overseas series next year. His mammoth tally for Tamil Nadu, crucial knocks in clusters for the national side and brilliant fielding have made it difficult for the board to overlook him amidst the cry for getting in more youngsters. With skipper Virat Kohli being rested in the upcoming ODI and T20I series, Karthik has perhaps the best chance to seal his place in the constantly eluding No.4 spot.

“It's a little hard to say, in terms of why people haven't been able to nail that spot, I wouldn't be able to pinpoint just one aspect," said Karthik in an interview with Cricbuzz.

What makes the fourth position tricky is the varied situation a player encounters upon coming in. He might come in at 10/2 or 200/2, and will have to play accordingly. One should possess the abilities to control the tempo of the game, have a clear vision of the required run-rate in the coming overs and dexterity to play spinners and pacers equally well, to excel in that position.

And someone like Karthik, who has already played 109 international games for the country across all the three formats and is usually a No.4 for his domestic team as well as in IPL, believes that he has enough experience to handle the pressure in that role now.

“I've batted in situations where the score is 0 for 2, 10 for 2 and there have been times when the score has been 210 for 2. I understand what needs to be done and how to go about it and in the experience comes in really handy then,” said Karthik.

"The No. 4 batsman is under the scanner because nobody has probably done as well to seal the spot. So whoever is there is under the spotlight. That's just about it. It's pretty simple if I can do well if I'm able to be consistent and able to do what the team management wants me to do, then there won't be any scrutiny per say," Karthik further added.

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