Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, in his recent interview suggested that Virat Kohli should bat at number four as per the conditions at 2019 World Cup
After Ravi Shastri’s comments on the fourth position of India, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has opined his views on the same. Gavaskar believes that Virat Kohli can be positioned to bat at number 4 in the lineup for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019.
The number four position has been quite a troublesome area for India lately. India has been using various permutations and combinations since last two years, but have been failing extensively.
Ambati Rayudu was the latest to be experimented for the number four position, whose recent knock of 90-runs was an outstanding one. His inconsistency however remains an area of concern for the team management and with just five more ODIs to go before the World Cup, India are short of experiments.
Gavaskar is of the opinion that Kohli might be the apt player for the particular spot which will also help India in swinging conditions. Owing to the performance of India in 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in England, Gavaskar feels that making Kohli bat at number 4 can be prove to be fruitful for the team.
“There needs to be flexibility. More the flexibility in the batting line-up, more beneficial to the team. Let’s look at what happened in the Champions Trophy final. Rohit Sharma was dismissed by Mohammed Aamir early. When Virat Kohli came out to bat, the ball was swinging quite a bit. Pakistan were pumped up after having put 300 on the board,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“In such situations, an important player like Virat Kohli needs protection. He can come in at No. 4. Maybe the ball may not move that much when the No. 4 batsman walks out to the middle. Such moves can be beneficial to the team. Yes, according to the conditions, flexibility is needed. If not, Virat Kohli is suited to batting at No. 3. In conditions that are conducive to swing bowling, India can afford to play Virat at No. 4,” Gavaskar added.
AUTHOR’S TAKE:
Kohli has been playing at number three for quite a while. He has 39 ODI hundreds in his name, of which 32 have come while batting at number three. Kohli however has a decent record at number four as well having scored 1929 runs including seven hundreds. However, it doesn’t matter at what position Kohli plays given that his experience would rather be more helpful for India.
