Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has touted Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson as ideal fits at the No.4 position in India's batting order for the 2023 ODI World Cup. The ex-Aussie chinaman reckons that if Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul fail to regain full fitness in due time then the Varma and Samson can be the ideal replacements. Hogg underlines the different ways in which India can manipulate their playing XI, keeping in mind the wicket-keeper's position.
"If they're (Iyer and Rahul) not fit, we need a keeper in this team. I don't think Ishan Kishan can bat lower down the order. I think he is predominantly an opener," Hogg said on Instagram.
"If they open with Kishan and Rohit Sharma, I would have Tilak Varma coming in at No. 4. He has hardly played any one-day cricket. But the way he has operated in T20 cricket shows that he has got the goods for any situation," he added.
Varma recently made his T2I debut for the Men in Blue and in his maiden series, the left-handed batter impressed the onlookers by playing some audacious shots and displaying a good head on his shoulders. In 5 T20Is against West Indies, Varma aggregated 173 runs at a strike rate of 140.65 with the help of a half-century.
Hogg further added that if Shubman Gill opens the batting alongside Rohit then Samson can bat at No.4 and do the wicket-keeping job for the Men in Blue.
"If they go with Gill and Rohit Sharma at the top of the order with Sanju Samson at No. 4 as the Indian keeper going into that World Cup. I think he can offer something substantial in that position", the former Aussie cricketer added.
Samson hasn't played a ton of games for India in 50-over cricket. In 13 ODIs, the stylish batter has aggregated 390 runs with the help of three half-centuries.
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