KL Rahul, who returned to play international cricket after 172 days, went on to smash a century against Pakistan in a Super 4s Asia Cup 2023 match while batting at the number 4 position. The debate on who should be India's number 4 in ODIs has been debated among cricket fans and media for over the years.
In recent times many believed that Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul would fill the middle-order role slot for the Indian team in the ODIs, but with Ishan Kishan returning to good form (smashed four consecutive fifties in ODIs) the headache for the Indian team management continues where to include Shreyas Iyer in the team.
Here, in this article, we will see who has done a better job for India at the middle order in ODIs.
KL Rahul at number 4 (or) lower position in ODIs since 2020:
Matches - 22
Innings - 21
Runs - 1035
Avg - 64.68
S.R - 97.91
50s - 7; 100s - 3
H.S - 112 vs NZ in Mt. Maunganui, 2020
KL Rahul's recent fifty-plus scores in ODIs:
111* vs PAK in Colombo(RPS), 2023
75* vs AUS in Mumbai(WS), 2023
64* vs SL in Kolkata, 2023
73 vs BAN in Mirpur, 2022
In all the above-mentioned games he played a solid role with the bat for his side and helped India to make a comeback from tough situations.
Shreyas Iyer at number 4 (or) lower position in ODIs since 2020:
Matches - 32
Innings - 29
Runs - 1169
Avg - 44.96
S.R - 93.89
50s - 2; 100s - 8
H.S - 113* vs SA in Ranchi, 2022
Shreyas Iyer's recent fifty-plus scores in ODIs:
82 vs BAN in Mirpur, 2022
80 vs NZ in Auckland, 2022
113* vs SA in Ranchi, 2022
50 vs SA in Lucknow, 2022
Shreyas Iyer was in terrific form with the bat in ODIs during 2022 as he wasn't part of the T20 squad thus he played almost all the ODI series that happened in that year and showed his class.
In 2023, Shreyas Iyer didn't look impressive in the few ODI matches that he played so far.
Shreyas Iyer in ODI matches during 2022:
Matches - 17
Innings - 15
Runs - 724
Avg - 55.69
S.R - 91.52
50s - 6; 100s - 1
Note: He played a few ODI matches at the number 3 position also in 2022.
Shreyas Iyer scores in ODI matches during 2023:
28(24) vs SL in Guwahati
28(33) vs SL in Kolkata
38(32) vs SL in Thiruvananthapuram
14(9) vs PAK in Pallekele - Asia Cup
DNB vs Nepal in Pallekele - Asia Cup
Looking at the recent form, KL Rahul's numbers at the number 4 (or) 5 position in ODIs and Ishan Kishan's recent form it will be tough for Shreyas Iyer to make a comeback in this format unless the team decides to keep Ishan Kishan out of the equation from Playing XI.
