Asia Cup 2023: Sanjay Manjrekar Shuts Down Ravi Shastri Over Latter's Suggestion For Virat Kohli's Batting Position

Virat Kohli seems to have become the favorite option for many to end India’s middle-order woes. The number four spot continues to be a major worry for the Indian team management ahead of the Asia Cup and the World Cup.

In the last few years, Team India had tried a plethora of batsmen at that position but none of them managed to impress at the crucial position. Shreyas Iyer looked promising at the number four spot but an unfortunate injury has sidelined him for months now. While the batsman has been named in India’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup, many believe that he should not be the only option because of a lack of game time.

In such a scenario, several experts including former India head coach Ravi Shastri have suggested that Virat Kohli should be demoted to the number four spot in the batting order. The former India skipper has batted at number three for the most part of his career and has done extremely well in that position.

Out of the 265 ODI innings that he has played so far, Virat Kohli has batted at number three in 210 of them. 10777 of his 12898 ODI runs have come at that position. He has also smashed a record 39 centuries at that position. Ravi Shastri, however, believes that the Indian team management should not hesitate in sending Virat Kohli at number four in the upcoming World Cup.

“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 recently told Star Sports channel.

He also recalled that during the 2019 World Cup, he considered changing the star batsman’s place “just to break that top-heavy line-up”, saying: “You know, because if we lose two or three at the top, we are gone and it was proved. If you look at Virat Kohli’s record, he is good enough at number four.”

Sanjay Manjrekar’s response to Ravi Shastri’s suggestion:

Ravi Shastri’s suggestion regarding Virat Kohli’s batting position has not gone down too well with former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar. The former cricketer-turned-commentator said that Virat Kohli has become a scapegoat amid experts trying to fit Ishan Kishan in the top order.

“The more and more you talk about other options like Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli seems to get relegated. He has sort of become the scapegoat in the sense that you bat him at No.4 and all your problems are solved,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

When fellow panelist and former Australia cricketer Tom Moody agreed with Shastri’s suggestion, Sanjay Manjrekar quickly pointed out the disastrous consequence of tinkering with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s batting position in the 2007 World Cup.

“There is also a cultural issue in Indian cricket. In 2007 World Cup when the team management of Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell sent Tendulkar at No.4 instead of opening because they had people like Virender Sehwag and others at the top of the order. But that became a huge controversy. So it is really up to Kohli, an iconic player, on whether he wants to bat at No.4. It seems like a perfectly simple solution, but it concerns Kohli,” he said.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli will be seen in action soon in the upcoming Asia Cup, scheduled to begin on August 30. The tournament will pretty much make the team management’s plans for the World Cup clear.