Virat Kohli‘s favoured No. 3 spot may have been downgraded by Ravi Shastri in order to improve India’s middle order.
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Ravi Shastri’s Proposal: Virat Kohli’s Potential Batting Position Change in ODIs
For the last ODI World Cup in 2019, according to former India head coach Ravi Shastri, he considered asking Virat Kohli to bat at No. 4 to help the middle order. Shastri made his remarks when assessing Virat Kohli’s position in the current ODI lineup. With almost a decade of experience at No. 3 for India, Kohli is probably one of the finest No. 3 hitters in ODI history. In ODIs, Virat Kohli averages 60 while batting one down, and 39 of his 46 hundreds have come when batting at No. 3.
However, Shastri believes that if the teams in the next Asia Cup and ODI World Cup require it, Kohli may drop down the order. Ishan Kishan should start and be the first choice keeper, according to the former India all-rounder, and the skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli should modify to make room for him.
Ravi Shastri’s Strategy: Kohli’s Potential Move to No. 4 in ODI Batting Order
Rohit can bat anywhere in the top four, according to Shastri, but Gill may find it difficult to adapt in the middle of the order. So Shastri suggested Kohli can bat at No. 4. “Ishan Kishan ought to start the batting order right at the top. Rohit has a ton of experience as a captain. At three, he may enter. At four, he may go. You must now recognize the player’s frame of reference. How would Shubman Gill react if he is asked to bat at No. 3 or No. 4 instead of at the top? No one has a position they own. Shastri said on Star Sports that if Virat must bat at position four, he would bat there for the team.
Shastri continued by saying that he had considered the same action at the last World Cup in England, when he was the head coach of Team India. “Even during the previous two World Cups, there were occasions when I considered it. I may have brought up the idea of MSK hitting at position four to balance out that top-heavy lineup with MSK. If we lost the top two or three, we were finished. And it was shown that you need experience only to shatter that, according to Shastri.
The conversation also included MSK Prasad, a former keeper-batter for India and the chairman of selectors at the time. He corroborated Shastri’s account and said that the then-head coach had in fact considered asking Kohli to bat at position four. However, Kohli, the Indian team’s captain at the time, batted at his favoured No. 3 position, preventing it from happening.
India’s middle order lacked experience, which was shown during the semi-final match against New Zealand as Matt Henry and Trent Boult destroyed the top order.
Virat Kohli has a solid record at No. 4, according to Shastri. He is right. At No. 4, Kohli has the second-best record. In the 39 games in which he batted at the vital position, he had a 55 average and seven hundreds. Aside from No. 3, this is the only position where Kohli has scored an ODI century.
Shastri’s suggestion to Kohli was to “look at Root, Williamson, and Smith.”
While Kohli has been a champion in every way, Shastri believes that because of how much the game has evolved, the format for 50-over cricket has to adapt as well. Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith were cited as role models by the 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder to inspire Kohli.
No matter how successful you are as a player, you must adapt to the game. Similar rules apply to Virat Kohli. There is no doubt in my mind. You can observe players from across the globe by looking at them at different points in their careers, including Joe Root, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Kohli himself. They have all had to change. There are innovations (occurring sometimes). Some participants seek to up the stakes. There is now a different template in use, he said.
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