R. Ashwin or Shardul Thakur? Who bats at No. 8 for India? Or will India risk playing four bowlers?

The Indian Cricket Team faces some problems when it comes to selecting the playing 11.

R. Ashwin or Shardul Thakur? Who bats at No. 8 for India? Or will India risk playing four bowlers?

The trio of Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur and R. Ashwin will compete for the number 8 spot (Images via ESPN)

The Indian Cricket Team Management faces a headache. After Mohammed Shami’s brilliant bowling display against Australia in the first ODI, he has announced to the Indian team management he deserves to play in the playing 11 alongside Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. 

Unfortunately, the selection of Mohammed Shami would disrupt the work India has put into making sure their batting line up has some depth. In the 2023 Asia Cup, India was seen playing three pure bowlers in Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Bumrah while Hadrik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja operated as all rounders who took the number six and seven spot. 

YouTube video

That leaves the number 8 spot. The Indian team usually played Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur at that spot, but now with Axar Patel getting injured and R. Ashwin being brought into the squad, the team faces a huge issue. 

Should they continue playing Shardul Thakur who has proven to be a capable batter various times and is handy with the ball? Should they play Mohammed Shami and keep playing four pure bowlers, reducing the batting depth? Or should they play R. Ashwin, arguably the best Test spinner in the world and a batter who has scored 5 Test centuries? 

While this is a huge problem, it is a good problem to have for the Indian cricket team. Having so many quality players in the 15-man squad gives the team many great options to choose from, and also makes the Indian Cricket Team a favorite for the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup. 

Related: India have finally cracked the code for Suryakumar Yadav problem? Team balance goes for a toss

Ishan Kishan or Shreyas Iyer? Who goes in the playing 11? 

After missing many games for India due to a back injury, Shreyas Iyer finally returned to ODI cricket to face Pakistan in their first match of the 2023 Asia Cup. He came in to bat at his preferred number 4 spot, but couldn’t capitalize and departed early. 

Iyer Kishan
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer are competing for the number 4 spot. (Image via ESPN)

Meanwhile Ishan Kishan had scored a really impressive 82 and ensured India batted their entire quota of 50 overs. Sadly Shreyas Iyer had to miss the remaining matches due to a back spasm, which let Kishan take his spot. 

Later, in the three-match ODI series with Australia, Iyer scored 153 runs in the 3 matches, which included a century, while Kishan only managed to score 49 in the two games he played. Iyer is a better player of spin, so the team might prefer him to play at number 4, but with Kishan’s aggressive and attacking nature, he might bring in an X-factor which every team would want.

In case you missed: