Assistant coach Bangar vouches for Rayudu's return in ODIs

Admitting that India’s middle order is still a work in progress, India assistant coach Sanjay Bangar vouched for Amabati Rayudu's return, provided the right-hander clears the notorious Yo-Yo test.

Admitting that India’s middle-order is still a work-in-progress, India assistant coach Sanjay Bangar vouched for Amabati Rayudu's return, provided the right-hander clears the notorious Yo-Yo test.

India’s middle-order again came under scrutiny after it failed to deliver in the last ODI, chasing a target of 323. Bangar believes Rayudu can provide the solution to India’s middle-order woes.

"It is going to be a very fluid situation. We'll see as to the players available and the fitness of the players. Ambati Rayudu was someone who can bat very well in the middle-order, but unfortunately, he couldn't clear the fitness test. But I am pretty sure going forward, if he passes the fitness test, he could also be a candidate. Bangar said on the eve of the series-deciding ODI at Headingley.

Rayudu was originally included in the 15-man squad for the England ODIs, making a comeback into the ODI set-up after two years but was axed from the squad after he flunked the mandatory Yo-Yo test.

"Lots of spots are open. The good thing is that the bench strength that we have Rayudu, Manish Pandey and Ajinkya Rahane. There are enough spots for each and every eventuality that we might face leading up to the World Cup," he added.

Rayudu’s ability to adjust anywhere in the batting line-up makes him an ideal candidate for the No.4 slot, for which India have been struggling for long.

India’s decision to try out Rahul at No.4 did not go according to plans in the first two ODIs and Bangar indicated there might be a change in the batting order going into the decider.

"Obviously, the plan was to have a left-hander batting in the middle-order. That is the reason why Suresh (Raina) was picked ahead of Dinesh (Karthik). We did change a bit in the T20 format, where KL batted at three and Virat batted at four. Looking at this series, and the performances that Virat has got at three, especially in the last series, he scored three hundreds versus South Africa in five games.

Stressing on the upcoming ODI World Cup, Bangar cleared that India would try out different batsmen at different positions.

"Going forward, there are still 16 to 17 games to go, we're looking at the games remaining wherein we could look at settling the middle order slots. I am pretty sure that things are fluid at the moment. It's not that a guy is only going to bat at a particular number," he added.