The No.4 position in India’s batting order remains a topic of discussion going into the 2023 Asia Cup and the World Cup later in the year. It had been a position in which India didn’t have a set batter going into the 2019 World Cup. While it had looked like Shreyas Iyer had made it his own in the months since that tournament, he has been out for months due to injury, leading to questions as to whether he would have enough game time going into the two big tournaments.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri had recently suggested a radical move of demoting stalwart Virat Kohli to the No.4 spot. It is a position that Kohli used to play at regularly in the early part of his career in ODI cricket before he came to be recognised as arguably the best No.3 batter in the world. No.4 is also where Kohli plays for India in Test cricket.
However, former India opener Aakash Chopra has said that demoting Kohli to any position would only be playing into the opposition’s hands. “Where should Virat bat? Everything has two or three sides to it,” said Chopra on his Youtube channel. “The first thing is, assuming it is an India-Pakistan match, you have Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan, a good bowling attack in front of you, what do you want as a Pakistan or an Australian team?”
“When would they want Virat to come to bat? The fewer the overs are left, the better it is. They will want Virat Kohli to come to bat in the 45th over, it will be even better for them.”
Kohli’s records
Kohli has played 39 matches as a No.4 batter for India, scoring 1767 runs at an average of 55.21 and strike rate of 90.66. He has also scored seven centuries and eight half centuries, all of it make it pretty clear that he is a strong option for that spot. However, his numbers as a No.3 batter is off the charts. Kohli boasts an average of 60.20 in 210 matches with a whopping 10,777 runs scored. He has hit 39 centuries and 55 half centuries.
Chopra said that the more overs Kohli gets to bat, the more effective he will be for India. “As overs keep getting elapsed, Virat Kohli will get marginalized more and more. He is a big player but he can become big enough only if you give as much opportunity to him.
“If you give someone a postcard and ask them to draw a picture, you will get a postcard-sized picture only. So from an opposition point of view, it’s very simple that you send Virat at No. 4. It is even better if you send him at No. 5 or No. 6,” he said.
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