The Indian cricket team succumbed to a bitter defeat in the semi-finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup against New Zealand. One of the major concerns for team India during the tournament was the No. 4 position in the playing eleven. Last evening, former India coach Ravi Shastri revealed that he considered using Virat Kohli at the spot while he was the head coach of the side.
Citing Kohli’s record at number four, where the star Indian batter scored 1767 runs at an average of 55.21 with seven hundreds, Shastri said that he wanted the top four to be flexible and Kohli was willing to bat wherever the team needed him.
“If Virat has to bat at four, he will bat at four in the interest of the side. You know, there were times I thought of it,” Shastri said in a chat on Star Sports’ Selection Day show.
“Even in the previous two World Cups, when I was coach in 2019, I thought I might have discussed that with MSK as well of him batting at four just to break that top heavy line up,” he said.
“You know, because if we lost two or three at the top, we were gone and it was proved so just for reaching that the experience. And if you look at Virat Kohli’s record, he is good enough at number four,” said Shastri.
Shastri also would not include K L Rahul in the playing eleven for the Asia Cup as it would be asking for “too much” from a player who has not played competitive cricket for close to four months.
Both Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who are undergoing injury rehabilitation at the NCA in Bengaluru, are expected to regain full fitness before the Asia Cup starting August 31.
“When you are talking of a player who has not played and is recovering from injury. To think of him in the playing eleven of Asia Cup, you are asking little too much of the player himself.
“And then you are talking keeping when the guy has come from a knee injury, the range of movement, things like (that). That is a no, no straight,” Shastri said.
He also warned against rushing back players from injuries.
“You can’t rush players back from injuries. You did that with Jasprit Bumrah, not once, twice but thrice and he has been out for 14 months now.” In place of Rahul, Shastri would like to see rookie batter Tilak Varma in the middle order. He wants to see three left-handers in the top-seven, including Ravindra Jadeja.
“There are three other positions where I think two left-handers have to come in. Now, this is where the selectors’ role comes in because they are watching. They know who’s the guy who’s hot. If Tilak Varma is hot, bring him in. If you think (Yashasvi) Jaiswal is hot, bring him in.
“I am very impressed with Tilak and if I want a left-hander, I would look in that direction. The way he has got his runs over the last three months, whether in the IPL or India, he has ticked all the boxes,” said Shastri.
Shastri also backed Ishan Kishan to come good.
“Including Jaddu (Jadeja), there should be three left-handers in the top seven. Ishan Kishan has been keeping for the last 15 months. Why go somewhere else? “If you have persisted with Ishan Kishan for the last six to eight months, and he’s going to keep wickets, he comes in, in any case. But, get two left-handers,” he said.
Justifying his point further, Shastri remembered the 2019 World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand.
“People don’t give credit what Shikhar Dhawan deserves. That guy was an amazing player. When we lost that World Cup semifinal, he was missed. A left-hander at the top of the order, as opposed to three right-handers, makes a huge difference when the ball is swinging away (swinging in for the right handers),” he added.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
