On Monday, the Indian selector announced the 17-member squad for the Indian team that will take part in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Indian captain Rohit Sharma also attended the press conference, where he said that all the players should be ready to bat at any position.
However, Rohit did not confirm whether or not Virat would bat as per the situation or not. It does indicate that India is ready to make changes in the batting order if the situation demands it. But it seems that former Indian pacer Dodda Ganesh has something else on his mind.
Taking to Twitter, Ganesh wrote that India should not try to experiment with Virat’s place because the best batter should bat at the place where he is best. He also talked about India’s disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign when India forced Sachin Tendulkar to bat at No. 4.
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 #CricketTwitter
— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) August 21, 2023
Team India were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage after losing two of their three games. They lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Sachin batted at no. 4, which was not his usual position. That is the case with Virat at the moment.
The former Indian captain has batted most of his career at No. 3. His numbers at that position are incredible in ODIs. Though his stats at No. 4 are also brilliant. He has scored 1767 runs at an average of 55.21 at No. 4, including seven centuries and eight half-centuries.
It is true that India has been struggling with No. 4, and they have tried a number of players in that position since the last World Cup in 2019. However, Shreyas Iyer did well but was injured later on. Though he has made his comeback in the team for the Asia Cup, he doesn’t have gametime under his belt.
Team India will hope that the return of Iyer and KL Rahul can resolve the issues in the middle order. But with both of these stars coming off long injuries, it will be hard to get going right away.
