Veteran India off-spinner R Ashwin has reacted to former India coach Ravi Shastri’s take on playing Virat Kohli as a No. 4 batter in the upcoming ODI World Cup. He also said that the only way possible for Virat Kohli to bat at the aforementioned spot is if wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul doesn’t get fit for the upcoming marquee event.
R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel: “Virat Kohli batted at number 4 in that World Cup [2011]. In fact, Ravi Bhai has mentioned that, if necessary, Virat Kohli should bat at number 4. I think he mentioned that so that we can accommodate a left-hander. The only way that can happen is if KL Rahul doesn’t get fit, and when they need a keeper, they can open with Ishan Kishan. That’s the only possibility because Shreyas Iyer is one of the go-to players for Team India in ODIs as a batter.”
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Virat Kohli has so far played 39 ODIs at No. 4, scoring 1767 runs which came at an average of 55.22, including seven centuries and eight fifties. However, he usually bats at No. 3, where he has scored 10,777 runs in 210 games which came at an average of 60.21, including 39 tons and 55 fifties. At No. 4, Kohli had smashed 282 runs in nine games at an average of 35.25, including one ton in the 2011 World Cup.
He further added: “Rinku Singh has captured everyone’s hearts with that famous last-over finish this IPL season, guys. He has gotten this ‘boy next-door’ image with his success story this season. Will they pick and groom him as a designated finisher in this series? We will have to wait and watch. Another exciting finisher who has done well in the last two seasons has been Jitesh Sharma. Jitesh is a right-hander and Rinku is a left-hander. Both Jitesh Sharma and Rinku Singh are the ones who could fit in the number 5, and 6 roles.”However, I feel Sanju Samson will get the nod as the keeper ahead of Jitesh Sharma. The series is an extraordinary chance to play Sanju as a keeper and make him bat at number 3. He will surely bat at number 3 or 4.”
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“Another debate is on how Sanju Samson is a top-order batter and how he is being wasted as a number 6 in T20Is. See, Team India’s top 4 has been really heavy all this while,” R Ashwin concluded. “We have had Virat, Rohit, and now we have Shubman Gill. We have had Shreyas Iyer as well. How could we have slotted Sanju in the top 4? That’s why they tried Sanju, where they felt they had a hole in the batting order.”
