Why India may see a lot more of Washington and Axar at No 5 in next 15 months
CHENNAI: A classy fifty from Shubman Gill, clinical bowling performance from the pace trio — including the return of Jasprit Bumrah — and the low scores from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the top will continue to remain the talking points from the first ODI between India and England at Edgbaston.been clear. Rahul will be their No 6 and in all likelihood a left-hander, and potentially an all-rounder, will be their No 5.
And it is not new either. Since Gautam Gambhir took over, Rahul has been quietly moved down a spot. The versatile batter has scored runs in No 6 as well, and even spoke about it last year during the South Africa series. “Batting at No 6 is okay, gotta do the job for the team. That’s the role I’ve been given in the last 2-3 series. It’s helping personal development,” he had said after the first ODI in Ranchi last year.
The one template, which has been in place for a while now, that would warrant a discussion is India’s middle-order after they dismissed England for 258 on Tuesday. Their No 5-8 in the team sheet read Washington Sundar, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube. Though it is far from the first XI they would like to have come the 2027 ODI World Cup, the messaging haInterestingly, in the five matches he featured this year, Rahul has batted at No 5 thrice. On Tuesday, however, Washington came in ahead of Rahul, but it did not matter. With Gill retired hurt, he technically came in at No 5 but fell early, leaving Axar and Washington in the middle with the scoreboard reading 140/6.
From thereon, the two all-rounders took it upon themselves to recover the innings and build a partnership. When they came together, India needed 99 runs in 22.1 overs on a surface that still had some assistance for the pacers. The target was less than run-a-ball and the duo put their heads down to build a partnership. WashingtonIn comparison, since 2025 Axar has scored 274 runs at 39.14 average and 87.82 strike rate at No 5. However, Washington was preferred at the spot on Tuesday — only the second time in that position since 2025. And he delivered too.
What makes things interesting between the trio is that with the next World Cup set in South Africa, it could be likely that only one of the two all-rounders who took India home on Tuesday might find a regular place in the top six. Come the WC, India will hope to have Hardik PandyaHarshit Rana in the mix at No 7 and 8, leaving the one spin-bowling all-rounder spot at No 5. Unless they leave out Kuldeep Yadav regularly, which seems to be the case in recent times, only one of the two finger spinners may feature consistently in the same position.
The thing that has worked for India so far is that Gambhir has shown that he can be flexible on occasions, promoting Rahul at No 5 depending on match situations. The next 15 months, however, might see a lot ofexperimentation, especially in the middle-order which is potentially India’s weakest link in the ODI set up. Expect to see a lot more of Washington and Axar in such situations, but the challenge for them would be to replicate such performance when the top-order performs. Can they adapt and up the ante consistently if it comes to it? Among the two who will seal the No 5 spot for themselves? The next year will answer those questions