'He should be batting at No.4 …' - Former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq points out must needed change for India in ODI World Cup 2023

On October 29, England faced India at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, and once again, they had a disappointing performance in the ODI World Cup 2023. Despite a strong effort by Indian bowlers in successfully defending a total of 229 runs, securing a victory by a margin of 100 runs, there remain lingering concerns regarding the Indian team's batting.

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In a recent discussion, former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq highlighted an intriguing observation regarding Shreyas Iyer's struggles with short-pitched deliveries. Misbah pointed out that Iyer's intense focus on bouncers sometimes leads him to attempt a pull shot even when it's not the right ball for it, as exemplified in the match against England.

“He is expecting the short ball and many times, even against short-of-length balls which aren’t ideal for pulling, like the one against England, he goes for the shot. So, you are overthinking about the short ball and you are in trouble. See his front foot. After the initial movement, it goes nowhere. And he is in no position to play the short ball … And he doesn’t even try to avoid the short ball,” Misbah said on ‘A’ Sports.

Chris Woakes' delivery length in this instance wasn't particularly short; it was more towards the top of the back of a length. However, Shreyas Iyer's approach was interesting. He initially made a small forward movement, then abruptly stopped it, and in the process, he contorted his stance while attempting the pull shot. As a result, the execution was far from smooth; the bat's flow was disrupted, and the bat-face alignment was less than ideal. Consequently, the ball ended up ballooning for a straightforward catch.

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KL Rahul should be promoted to number 4

Shreyas Iyer's mental approach seems to lead him away from the most sensible choice when facing short-pitched deliveries, which is either ducking or swaying away. Iyer gets so deeply committed to the shot that he struggles to change his mind. A former Pakistan captain proposed a significant reconsideration of India's batting order, recommending that KL Rahul be moved to the No.4 position instead of Shreyas.

“I have been saying from day 1, KL Rahul is a class player and is late at No.5; he should be batting at No.4 … If they have KL Rahul at No.4 and then when Hardik Pandya comes back, things can get difficult for Shreyas,” Misbah said.