India trails 2-1 in the five-match T20I series against England.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra wants an in-form Virat Kohli batting at No. 3 and not a position lower.
Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 77 in the 3rd T20I against England and stamped his authority as the team's best batsman yet again. He timed his innings to perfection with 8 fours and 4 sixes in his 77.
Chopra told Star Sports, "That was a masterclass and that’s what you expect from Virat Kohli. He knows how to pace the innings. I think the first 20-25 odd balls, he had scored 20 odd runs, less than a run-a-ball because wickets were falling at the other end. That was the need of the hour."
"But when he wants to up the ante, he can, because he has got all the shots in the book. He was at his dominating best. And you know what is good with Virat kohli is that if he gets one big score, he will follow it up with another, he will get another if he gets another opportunity," he added.
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He scored back-to-back half-centuries against England. Scores of 73 and 77 in those games is enough evidence that the Indian skipper has found his form in international cricket. Now that Kohli is in good touch with the bat, Chopra wants him to bat a position higher.
"But there is one issue, if you are the captain and you’re in that kind of form, the best position for you is that No. 3. Why are you batting at No. 4? Of course, that problem is their own making."
"You have got Ishan Kishan right at the top opening in one game and No. 3 in the next game, Virat Kohli had to go down to No.4 which is not ideal," he added.
The 43-year-old is also not happy with Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya being pushed down the order. Aakash Chopra feels that there is a lot of up and down in the Indian batting order at the moment and it needs to be fixed.
"Virat is showing it (how to deal with pace and bounce). He showed it the other day. But there is too much up and down with regards to the batting order. Shreyas, the man in form, was batting at 4 or 5, the other night, he was down to No. 6. Hardik is batting at No. 7, which is too low. These are concerns but they have to figure out something," he concluded.