IND vs PAK: Virat Kohli Is Playing Very Well At No.3- Aakash Chopra

Former India opener Aakash Chopra feels that Virat Kohli is playing very well at the no.3 and there is no need to change his batting position. Aakash Chopra also added that it’s not Virat Kohli’s fault is others can’t play at no.4.

Recently, there were talks about whether Virat Kohli should take the No. 4 position in Asia Cup 2023 and ICC World Cup 2023. This was because Team India faced issues at the no.4 position in the absence of Shreyas Iyer.

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It’s Not Virat Kohli’s Fault If Others Can’t Play At No.4: Aakash Chopra

While speaking on his YouTube channel over the matter, cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra dismissed the idea of Virat Kohli batting at No.4. Chopra said that it is not Kohli’s fault if others can play at No.4.

“Why do you want to change? No doubt the best place for Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan is to open. It should not be that you give Shubman and Ishan their best positions, but just because Virat Kohli can play down the order, you don’t think what is the best position for him.”

“I understand that when you make the team’s batting order, it’s not about justice, you think about what is right for the team. I am convinced that Virat Kohli’s form is important for India. It’s not Virat’s fault if others can’t play at No. 4,” the 45-year-old said.

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Chopra also added that Kohli is playing very well where he is playing. He also noted how Kohli drives the run-chases while batting at the one-down position.

“If Virat Kohli comes to bat at No. 3, there is no guarantee that he will get to bat in the first 10-15 overs, but whenever he gets to bat, he understands the pulse of one-day cricket and the graph keeps on moving.”

“He reaches his century around the 35th to 40th over and accelerates even more after that. Then he takes the team to 330-340. He dissects the run chase with surgical precision. He is such a wonderful player. I won’t change at all. He is playing very well where he is playing,” Aakash Chopra concluded.

Notably, Kohli plays at no.4 position in Tests, where Cheteshwar Pujara grabs the no.3 slot. After the ouster of Shreyas Iyer due to injury, Suryakumar Yadav took the no.4 spot in ODIs. However, the right-handed batsman failed to emerge as a reliable batter in the middle-order in ODIs.

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Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer has returned to the Indian team for the Asia Cup 2023. Suryakumar Yadav is also part of the India squad. Selectors have picked another middle-order batter Tilak Varma into India’s squad for Asia Cup 2023.