India's unending problem at No. 7

First Irfan Pathan, then Yusuf, and now an almost inexplicable faith in Ravindra Jadeja - India have tried several names at no. 7 but, with the World Cup round the corner, are nowhere near finding the right person for the job. Nihal Koshie writes in the Indian Express that if Jadeja does not live up to the billing in the lead-up to the event, India had better consider taking a leaf from their 2003 World Cup blueprint and play seven specialist batsmen.

On Sunday, Jadeja used his leftarm spin to beat the edge of Dhoni’s blade on a few occasions. This was shortly after the India skipper had reposed faith in Jadeja as the player who will do the job for India at No.7. The plan is to use Jadeja as the fifth bowler and hope that he clicks with the bat.

The severity of the problem of finding the elusive all-rounder can be gauged by the reluctance of the India team management to think beyond Jadeja at the moment because they feel there are no viable options. In case Jadeja’s bowling form fades, then India is planning to play a specialist batsman to fill the No.7 slot, a move that could backfire if the part-time bowlers, namely Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh have a bad day.