Source: Twitter
When he recently admitted that Virat Kohli might have played at No. 4 during the 2019 ODI World Cup in England, former India head coach Ravi Shastri made an intriguing statement. He continued by saying that he believed the top order was weak and that losing early wickets may be highly harmful.
When India lost to New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semifinal in Manchester, slumping to 5/3 after being slated to chase 240, Ravi Shastri’s greatest fears came true. Despite a heroic effort from the lower order, the Men in Blue lost the ICC knockout match by 18 runs.
Shastri stated during the discussion of Kohli’s one-day batting position that the 34-year-old can bat at No. 4 if the team requires him to. In an interview with Star Sports, Shastri said, “If Virat has to bat at four, he will bat at four in the interest of the side. You know, there were times I thought of it. Even in the previous two World Cups, when I was coach in 2019, I thought I might have discussed that with MSK [Prasad] as well of him batting at four just to break that top heavy line-up.”
Advertisement
Despite the fact that Kohli has primarily batted at number three in ODIs, a player of his ability might not have any issue adjusting to become a middle-order batsman. He frequently batted at number four early in his career and had some of his best innings there.
Kohli at 4: His performances
Advertisement
We analyse Kohli’s record at No. 4 in one-day cricket in light of Shastri’s comments. The 34-year-old has made 42 appearances at No. 4 in ODIs. In these games, he has scored 700,1767 runs at an average of 55.21. In a November 2014 match at Ranchi against Sri Lanka, he batted at position four and recorded his highest score of 139*.
Additionally, he batted at No. 4 in February 2012 in Hobart when he memorably hit 133* off 86 balls against Sri Lanka. Since the year began, the former India captain has just twice batted at position No. 4. He scored 7 against Australia in March 2019 and 16 against the same opponents in Mumbai in January 2020.
If not Kohli then who will bat at number 4?
Team India hasn’t found a dependable No. 4 hitter in one-day matches since Yuvraj Singh left. The No.4 position in ODIs has been a source of contention, according to Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who claimed that “after Yuvraj Singh, nobody has come and settled in.” Shreyas Iyer has recently been the position’s most effective batter.
Since his India ODI debut, he has played position four in 20 innings of batting. Two hundred and five fifty-seven runs have been scored by Shreyas in 805 runs, at an average of 47.35. However, a back problem has prevented him from performing since March of this year. It’s unlikely that he will be available for the World Cup and the Asia Cup.
When Team India is two down in a one-day game, they might also think of KL Rahul. His readiness, though, is also a source of anxiety. On the other side, Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t really done anything in the format to earn the trust of the selectors and team management.
Advertisement