• Source:JND
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Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed that he wanted Virat Kohli to bat at no. 4 in the 2019 World Cup to give balance to the side. In recent times, India have been labelled as a top-heavy batting side with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill and Kohli taking the top three spots in the batting line-up.

Amid the conundrum over the No. 4 spot in the ODIs, Shastri admitted that he thought of dropping Kohli to one place lower to fill in if India lose early wickets.

Batting at No. 4, Kohli scored 1767 runs including seven centuries at an average of 55.21. Shastri confirmed that the former captain agreed to take the role then to give flexibility to the batting order.

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“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. 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,” he added.

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India are facing a void at the No.4 batting spot due to the injuries to Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. In the ODI against West Indies, Men in Blue tried different players but no one was able to stamp their authority for the place.

Ahead of the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup, the biggest concern for the Indian selectors is to pick a suitable No. 4 batter for the side.