Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has claimed he wanted to play Virat Kohli at number four during the 2019 World Cup. India was at their best in the league stage but lost to New Zealand in the semifinals of the ODI showpiece.
Virat Kohli batted at number three and scored 443 runs in nine matches at an impressive average of 55.38. Shastri revealed he wanted to bat Kohli at number four to break the top-heavy batting line-up.
Meanwhile, India was heavily reliant on the shoulders of their top three batters – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli – during the previous ODI World Cup. While Rohit Sharma top-scored in the tournament with 648 runs in nine matches at an average of 81, KL Rahul amassed 361 runs in nine games at 45.12.
Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports’ Selection Day show: “If Virat has to bat at four, he will bat at four in the interest of the side. You know, there were times I thought of it. Even in the previous two World Cups, when I was the coach in 2019, I thought I might have discussed that with MSK [Prasad] as well of him batting at four just to break that top-heavy lineup.
“You know, because if we lost two or three at the top, we were gone and it was proved so. Just for that experience… And if you look at Virat Kohli’s record, he is good enough at number four,” said Shastri.
India’s over-reliance on the top three batters came to bite them as they could not recover after losing three early wickets in the all-important semifinal against the Kiwis.
Meanwhile, Kohli has batted at the No. 4 position in 42 matches in the 50-over format, scoring 1767 runs at an average of 55.21, including seven centuries.
The talisman has amassed 12898 runs in 275 ODI matches at an average of 57.32 and he is regarded as one of the best ODI batters of all time.
