VVS Laxman opines against Virat Kohli batting at Number 4 in ODIs

Laxman opines against Virat Kohli batting at Number 4: The former Indian batsman strongly opposed Indian team’s latest experiment.

India captain Virat Kohli demoting himself to No. 4 in the first ODI of the ongoing Australia’s tour of India in Mumbai faced severe criticism from sections of the cricketing fraternity.

The move affecting the whole batting order in more than one way didn’t bode the desired result for the hosts as they were bundled out for 255 in 49.1 overs.

Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli himself admitted that the decision didn’t augur well for them and that he is likely to rethink about it.

It is also clear that @imVkohli cannot be moved around. You are the best and you bat where you are the best. Even if all 3 play which is fair in the context, someone else bats 4. Virat has to bat 3 like he does.

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) January 14, 2020

“We’ve had this discussion many times in the past as well due to the way KL [Rahul] has been batting. We’ve tried to fit him into the team. Having said that, it’s not quite gone our way whenever I’ve batted [at 4]. Probably, I’ve to rethink about that one,” Kohli was quoted as saying.

VVS Laxman opines against Virat Kohli batting at Number 4

Speaking during the innings break on Star Sports, former India batsman VVS Laxman also expressed displeasure at Kohli batting at No. 4. The 45-year old didn’t shy away from stating that the move “won’t work”. What further didn’t please Laxman was India putting on display such an experiment against Australia.

“I don’t see this working. Sachin Tendulkar was the best player the world had ever seen. But he never relished batting at number four. You want your best batsman to play maximum number of deliveries and set the game up and finish the game for the team, especially against quality attack. One cannot afford to experiment against this Australian bowling line-up.

ALSO READ: Will Virat Kohli bat at No. 4 in Rajkot ODI?

“You’ve got someone like Virat Kohli that has played 230-odd one-day matches and 180 of those have been at No.3 and he has scored almost 10,000 runs at that particular position,” Laxman said.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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