Former Indian opener and now a commentator Aakash Chopra believes that an in-form Virat Kohli not batting at his usual position of number three and instead choosing to bat at number four is not ideal for the team.
The team management and Kohli decided to demote himself in the batting order to bat at number four in the third T20I against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma returned to the team after resting in the first two T20Is and thus Ishan Kishan, who had made an impressive debut in the second T20I, was asked to bat at one down in the third T20I. Thus, Kohli came out to bat after KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma were dismissed.
Chopra believes constant chop and change in the batting order is not good for the Indian team. Similarly, Shreyas Iyer who had scored an amazing knock of 67 runs is not given a fixed batting position. Furthermore, Hardik Pandya has batted at number six in the first T20I and then batted at number seven in the third T20I but he wasn’t been able to hit the ground running. Pandya is batting in the lower order and he should be given a promotion.
Aakash Chopra said while talking to Star Sports, “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 match; Virat Kohli had to go down to No. 4, which is not ideal. Too much up and down going on with India 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 added.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli was at his absolute best in the third T20I. Kohli scored 28 runs from the first 29 balls but then changed gears to score 49 runs from only 17 balls. The talisman was well-settled and helped India in getting 69 runs in the final five overs.
“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 oddballs; 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,” Chopra said.
Kohli is the fulcrum of the batting order for the Indian team and it is crucial that he bats at his best for the team. The third T20I will take place on Thursday.
