Seen great players bat at No. 4 for India, Vijay Shankar seems far away from it: Kevin Pietersen

Seen great players bat at No. 4 for India, Vijay Shankar seems far away from it: Kevin Pietersen

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Wednesday, May 29, 2019, 12:11 AM IST
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BCCI inducted Vijay Shankar in the Indian squad at World Cup 2019, with his three-dimensional ability to bat, ball and field. He was chosen over Ambati Rayudu, who was also being looked at for the no.4 batting position. Although many cricketers and fans supported Vijay Shankar’s selection in the World Cup squad, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has a completely different take on the selection.

Pietersen feels that Vijay Shankar is far behind in competition for the no.4 batting slot. “I haven’t seen enough of Vijay Shankar to warrant a No. 4 slot for India in the World Cup. I have seen some great players bat at No. 4 for India and sadly, Shankar seems far away from it. Batting at No. 4 is difficult and even more so in English conditions.

The English cricketer also feels that Shankar and Kedar Jadhav have been only included in the team as they have the ability to bowl as well. “It is almost like Shankar and Jadhav have made it to the India squad because they can bowl,” Pietersen said.

The World Cup squad was named by BCCI on April 15 and is as follows — Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Kartik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami.

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