Virat Kohli was forced to bat at No.3 in Test cricket after 8 years? Rohit Sharma reveals

India National Cricket Team captain Rohit Sharma has revealed whether the batting superstar Virat Kohli was forced to bat at the No.3 position in Test cricket during the first match against the New Zealand National Cricket Team.

The first Test of the three-match series between India and New Zealand got underway at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday, October 17, after the first day was washed.

Virat Kohli Bats At No.3 After 8-Year Gap

India were forced to make a huge change to their playing XI for the first Test against the Kiwis as the star batter Shubam Gill got ruled out of the match with a stiff neck.

To replace Shubman Gill in the team, Indian team management brought in Sarfaraz Khan. However, the youngster was not given the No.3 spot of Gill.

Many expected KL Rahul to take the No.3 position because of his ability to play anywhere in the batting order. However, Virat Kohli came out to bat after the dismissal of Rohit Sharma.

It was the first time since 2016 that Kohli batted at that position in Test cricket. The last time Kohli batted at No.3 in Test cricket was against the West Indies National Cricket Team.

Kohli had a forgettable outing with the bat against the BlackCaps as he bagged a 9-ball duck before being dismissed by the pacer William O’Rourke.

Rohit Sharma Opens Up On Virat Kohli’s Sudden No.3 Switch In Test Cricket"

Rohit Sharma attended the press conference after Day 2 of the India vs New Zealand first Test, and he was asked about the change in Virat Kohli's batting position.

The Indian skipper revealed that they asked Kohli to take Gill's spot despite knowing about his poor record at No.3 in the previous six Test innings, where he had scored only 97 runs at an average of 19.40.

Rohit Sharma said that Kohli was ready for the challenge and added that the experienced players need to take extra responsibility in the team, and the youngsters like Sarfaraz Khan need to be given time to settle in at a position where they usually bat.

"The experienced players are the ones who have to take that extra responsibility and this time it was Virat. He was the one who was ready to do that [bat at No. 3]," Rohit Sharma said.

"We asked him whether he can manage No. 3 because Sarfaraz [Khan] ... we wanted to give Sarfaraz also the position that he usually bats [at] four and five, six maybe."

We didn't want to change Rishabh and KL Rahul and hence Sarfaraz went at four - Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma further stated that they did not want to change the batting position of Rishabh Pant and particularly KL Rahul and hence they sent Sarfaraz Khan at Kohli's No.4 spot. He elaborated:

"But we didn't want to change Rishabh and KL [Rahul], and hence Sarfaraz went at four, and Virat batted at three.

'It's a good sign actually, we have players coming up and taking that responsibility and owning up to the challenge. It is a good sign. After a long time, KL has found himself set at number six, so we want to keep ... make him bat there."