The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s ODI squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. At the press conference, skipper Rohit Sharma made it clear that he expects his batters to be ready to bat at any position. While Rohit did not make it clear whether there Virat Kohli’s batting position will be changed according to the match situation or not, it indicated that the team management is ready to be flexible. The comment did not go down well with former Indian pacer Dodda Ganesh as he cautioned the team management about what happened in the 2007 ODI World Cup.
“Your best batter should bat at his customary position where he’s had all the success. Not a fan of Kohli batting at no 4 just because the team couldn’t find a batter for these many years. Remember, what happened in 2007 WC where Sachin was asked to bat at 4,” Ganesh wrote in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
In the 2007 ODI World Cup, Rahul Dravid-led India were knocked out from the group stage after losses to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar batted out of his usual position as an opener in the mega event.
Kohli’s numbers at no.4 in ODIs
While Kohli has scored the majority of his runs in the One-Day format batting at no.3, his record at no.4 is not bad either. From 39 appearances at no.4, Kohli has scored 1,767 runs at an average of 55.21 including seven centuries and eight half-centuries.
India’s no.4 candidates since ODI World Cup 2019
Since India's semi-final loss to New Zealand in ODI World Cup 2019, Indian team management has tried a number of batters at this position. Shreyas Iyer who is returning to the squad after recovering from a back injury has had much success scoring 805 runs from 20 innings at an average of 47.35 including two centuries and five half-centuries.
Only Rishabh Pant has got chances at the position in double digits. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 360 runs from 11 innings at an average of 36 including one century and two half-centuries. However, he is yet to regain full fitness after surviving a horrific car accident on December 30, 2022. The southpaw is currently at National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bengaluru.
KL Rahul who is also returning to the squad after recovering from injury has a good record in the middle order. He has scored 189 runs from just three innings including a century.
