At a time when India are on the lookout for a middle-order batter who can solve its No. 4 conundrum, former head coach Ravi Shastri has pitched the idea of sending Virat Kohli at the crucial batting position during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
While Shreyas Iyer is the front-runner to fill the No.4 slot at the World Cup, there’s concerns remain over their fitness after a back surgery.
Recently, Shastri opined that Kohli can excel at No. 4 as he used to bat in that position early in his career and also boast an impressive record – 1767 runs in 42 ODIs at an average of 55.21 with seven hundreds.
Amid the debate, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has claimed that Kohli is being made a ‘scapegoat’ and seen as someone who is a solution to all problems in the team.
“The more and more you talk about other options like Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli seems to get relegated. He has sort of become the scapegoat in the sense that you bat him at No.4 and all your problems are solved," Manjrekar told Star Sports.
He also recalled how a similar experiment with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar backfired badly during the 2007 World Cup in West Indies.
“There is also a cultural issue in Indian cricket. In 2007 World Cup when the team management of Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell sent Tendulkar at No.4 instead of opening because they had people like Virender Sehwag and others at the top of the order. But that became a huge controversy. So it is really up to Kohli, an iconic player, on whether he wants to bat at No.4. It seems like a perfectly simple solution, but it concerns Kohli," Manjrekar added.
Besides Manjrekar, batting great Sunil Gavaskar has also opposed the idea of ‘disrupting’ the current top-order. However, Gavaskar believes the Indian team management can consider sending Kohli at No. 4 if a wicket falls early.
“(On batting order) Any team has to be flexible…but I don’t want to disturb the top order. I don’t think Rohit Sharma should be looking to bat down the order. Yes, you can look at having Kohli at No. 4, particularly, if a wicket falls early because the new ball can do some early damage,” Gavaskar told India Today.
