MSK Prasad Calls Ravi Shastri's Idea of Virat Kohli Batting at No.4 in World Cup as 'Wonderful Thought'

How often have we seen players altering their batting positions at the mega event in cricket? Not many, I reckon. Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri and MSK Prasad are thinking on the same lines – asking Virat Kohli to bat at number four in the 2019 World Cup. Though it didn’t fit in the first go, MSK calling it as a ‘wonderful thought’ could see it happening at some stage in the UK.

He (Kohli) can bat at four – MSK Prasad

A few of the stalwarts including Sourav Ganguly and Sunil Gavaskar had confronted the idea of Kohli batting two down in the World Cup; MSK’s statement appears to have told a different story. The chief selector admitted the India captain is the number one batsman in the world and he has achieved all this success batting at one drop only. But, in England, if the situation arises or it demands him to play at four, Virat Kohli will do it.

Even in the recent past, we saw Kohli playing at four in England in the T20Is. It was KL Rahul, who was given an extended run in the top three to ensure he cements his place. However, Rahul didn’t shine; as a result, Virat returned to his batting position.

“I think it is a wonderful thought that Virat Kohli can bat at No.4 and that is what Ravi Shastri has expressed. This has been happening for quite some time, but we will have to see. Because Virat has done extremely well at No.3. He is the No.1 batsman in the world. But if it is for the requirement of the team and Virat has to come at No.4 he will definitely do it. But again, we will have to see what the team requires and what the dynamics of the team is. That will decide his batting position,” said in a recent interview on Hotstar.

Virat – the best no.3 batsman in the world

Virat Kohli, during his 11-year long career, has scored 10,533 runs at 59.50 – including 39 centuries. Since the beginning, he had played at seven different batting positions but settled at number three post the 2011 World Cup. At that spot, Virat has amassed 32 hundreds and average 62.98. Though he fared well batting two down as well – scoring 1744 runs at 58.13. Also, he had hit seven tons at no.4.