ICC World Cup 2019 | I want to see Vijay Shankar to bat at No. 4, says Sanjay Manjrekar

ICC World Cup 2019 | I want to see Vijay Shankar to bat at No. 4, says Sanjay Manjrekar

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Sanjay Manjrekar has backed Vijay Shankar to bat at No. 4 position in the batting line-up ahead of KL Rahul, who he reckons is more suited to open the batting. India have failed to find a solution for the debatable No. 4 slot and Shankar, in his sporadic appearances, has shown immense potential.

India are touted as favourites for the upcoming World Cup, however, there are few loopholes in their batting-order, which can be exploited brutally. They don’t have any confirmation over their No. 4 slot and Sanjay Manjrekar has backed Vijay Shankar to take guard at the said position. 

The race, as of now, is between Shankar and KL Rahul, but the latter is more suited to opening the batting suggests Manjrekar. KL Rahul had a stellar run in the recently concluded IPL, which probably strengthened his case in the middle-order. Although MSK Prasad hinted at Shankar batting at four, the opportunity is still there to be grabbed. 

“I want to see Vijay Shankar to begin with and see how he handles it. Because Rahul is more suited to No. 1 and 2. Very rarely he has batted at No 4, and when he did that, he did not look to me like a No 4. Rahul is a No 1 or 2 player who can be a replacement at the top,” Manjrekar said, reported Mumbai Mirror. 

“Why I said that because No 4 is a batsman who has to be fluid, who puts the ball into the gaps, handles spin well...and is wristy too. He has to have all the gears to handle situations like 20/2 or 220/2. Rahul always opened and Shankar has had a career in the middle-order. So, I will go with Shankar to begin with,” Manjrekar added.

On the whole, India have a formidable side with a well-oiled bowling attack. Manjrekar reckons India as the strongest team in the tournament and if they play to their potential they will be the best team. India have won the title twice in their ODI career and certainly know how to handle the pressure.  

“If India play to potential, it will be the best team in the tournament. My reading is that India are the strongest team. They got weaknesses which I feel are at No 4, five and six. But temperamentally, which Virat also kept mentioning, we are very strong. The World Cup is completely different. India are the best in ability to handle pressure. Because they won the World Cup twice, they know what is needed to be done on the big stage,” he said.

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