'The big question is who bats at no. 7' - Parthiv Patel surprised with R Ashwin's promotion in batting order

Former Indian wicket keeper batter Parthiv Patel wasn’t convinced with R Ashwin’s batting position in the first ODI against South Africa and felt the need for a proper all-rounder in the side. Ashwin batted at No.7 for India and the off spinner could manage just 7 runs off 13 deliveries which has popped up questions regarding his batting position. The 35-year-old averages 15 with the bat in ODIs and has hit just one fifty in the format so far in 112 games despite scoring five centuries in Tests.

India suffered another batting collapse in the middle order in the first ODI and it accounted to yet another loss to the South African side. Having cruising at one stage of the game with 138 for 1 in the chase of 294, some quick wickets meant that India fell short of the chase by 31 runs in the end. Although Ashwin should not be the only one to blamed, the management must understand the importance of number 7 position in ODI cricket which could easily turnaround a game.

Parthiv Patel feels the lack of balance

Patel noted that he was shocked to see Ashwin batting at seven in ODIs in spite of his credintials with the bat in Tests and added that the team is lacking the balance without the likes of Hardik Pandya or Ravindra Jadeja. Pandya is yet to recover completely from his back issues and he will key to the balance if he starts bowling. On the other hand, Jadeja has not been part of the tour since the injury he picked up against New Zealand.

“If he bats in Test cricket at 5 down, we wouldn’t be as shocked because we know that he has a capability of playing a long innings or score a hundred. But in one-day cricket, that is a big question that who bats at no. 7. With Ravindra Jadeja or Hardik Pandya batting at that place, the whole balance changes,” Parthiv Patel told Cricbuzz

Patel added that India will have to discover their right balance soon with Venkatesh Iyer having the ability to bowl medium pace. India will be hoping that Hardik or Jadeja gets fight in time ahead of the tight schedule this year.

So the big question is whether you go in with four proper bowlers with two bits-and-pieces players who could bowl five overs reach, or six batsmen and five bowlers. So this will continue to trouble India until Hardik Pandya recovers completely and returns to bowling, or Ravindra Jadeja returns to the team,” he added