Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has shared his insights on how India can improve their batting order after their struggle in the first two ODIs against West Indies. Butt suggests that India should consider placing skipper Rohit Sharma at number 3 and Virat Kohli at 4 to strengthen their lineup.

In the first ODI, India won by five wickets with both Rohit and Kohli demoting themselves in the batting order. However, in the second ODI, the duo was rested, and India faced a batting collapse, being bowled out for just 181 runs.

Salman Butt points out that India missed the presence of the star pair, which used to be covered earlier when players like MS Dhoni rested, and others like Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, or Yuvraj Singh took over the batting responsibilities. But now, the current set of players hasn’t been able to establish themselves in ODI cricket, leading to struggles in the absence of senior players.

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Butt emphasizes that India needs to sort out their batting issues before the upcoming World Cup. He suggests that India should bring back Shikhar Dhawan to open the innings alongside Shubman Gill. Rohit Sharma should bat at number 3, and Virat Kohli should take the number 4 spot. This would allow the team to have Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul in the middle order.

“I think the way ODIs are played, if the new players aren’t able to perform on a frequent basis, maybe you can have Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill opening, and maybe Rohit Sharma can come one down with Virat Kohli at 4. Then you can have Suryakumar and other players like KL Rahul. There are 3-4 players in this team who play in the opening role, and when they came down, the output isn’t the same,” Salman Butt further adds.

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Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are expected to return to India’s playing XI for the series decider on Tuesday. The team management will have to decide whether to stick with Ishan Kishan or Shubman Gill at the top or to have the Hitman reclaim his opening spot. The upcoming game is crucial for India as they seek to bounce back and make a strong statement ahead of the upcoming World Cup.