Former West Indies great Vivian Richards was all praise for Virat Kohli and feels that the Indian batsman could be able to strike top form in the World Cup irrespective of his batting position. “Whether he bats at No. 3 or 4, a man of his calibre is bound to succeed,“ is what the batting legend had to say about Virat Kohli.
Richards, who was in Sydney for a promotional event, was of the opinion that a batsman of Kohli's calibre will flourish at any number, but also backed India's plan to bat at No.4 for the team's cause. “I believe No.4 is quite a good position for any good batsman,” Richards said.
“If Virat is feeling comfortable batting in that position, then it is good for the team. I feel Virat is good enough to bat almost anywhere, at whichever spot in the batting order,” Richards added. “On these bouncy Australian wickets, there will be occasions when teams could lose early wickets. It makes sense to have Virat bat at No. 4 in such a scenario because he can dictate terms whatever the situation of the match.”
There has been a raging debate in the media on the Indian team management's surprising decision to drop Kohli to No. 4 in the ODIs, after being highly successful at No. 3 for a majority of his career. Kohli himself has been silent about the move. Being a team man there is no way he would want to raise the issue in public.
In the Tri-series, Kohli batted at No. 4 at Melbourne and Brisbane, scoring 9 and 4 respectively. Skipper MS Dhoni later justified the move saying it allows the star batsman to control the innings whether batting first or chasing a target. Dhoni's argument for dropping him at No. 4 was to make up for the lack of a good all-rounder down the order.
During India's victorious 2011 World Cup campaign, a young Kohli had batted at No. 4 in familiar conditions. India also had the comfort of quality opening batsmen like Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar with Gautam Gambhir batting at No. 3.
“I think the problem India is facing is due to Rohit Sharma's injury and Shikhar Dhawan's poor form. If these two issues are resolved, then Ajinkya Rahane at three and Virat at four would be the ideal combination,” former Aussie player Tom Moody said. “In an attempt to cover a weak lower-order, India should not create an unstable top-order. India never hesitated to open with Sourav (Ganguly) and Sachin (Tendulkar), whatever the strength of the lower order,” Moody said, making a strong case for Kohli to bat at No 3.
With the Indian team in retreat and introspection mode, hopefully the issue would be resolved before they take on Pakistan in their opening match here on February 15. The solution to the vexed issue lies in the fitness of Rohit Sharma and the form of Shikhar Dhawan.
