IND vs SL: Virat Kohli Batting At No. 3 Would Be Ideal: Sunil Gavaskar

Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar believes Virat Kohli will bat at the No.3 position in the upcoming home Test series against Sri Lanka.

Kohli has been rested by the BCCI for the Sri Lanka T20I matches in order to give the former Indian captain an adequate break from the bio-bubble environment and allow him to come in good shape for the red-ball format.

Virat Kohli has batted six times at No. 3 in Test cricket

After the Indian selectors dropped senior players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane over inconsistent form with the bat, the question that pops in everyone’s head is who will fill those vacant batting slots at No.3 and No.5 in the Indian team.

Kohli, who regularly bats at No.3 in the white-ball formats, has just batted in six Test innings in the same position as he has mostly played at the N0.4 position (124)  for India throughout his international career.

Virat Kohli should go at No.3: Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar is of the opinion that the best batter of the team comes in to bat at No.3 citing the example of former Australian captain Ricky Ponting. The former Indian captain also expects England Test skipper Joe Root to bat at 3 in the West Indies Test series.

“Ideally, Kohli should go at No.3. Because the best batsman you see…Ricky Ponting goes at 3. Joe Root bats at No.4, but I feel he will be batting at No.3 in West Indies. So the best batsman of the team is batting at No.3,” Gavaskar told India Today.

“He is capable of tackling the new ball in case there is an early wicket and he has also got the ability to up the tempo of the team has got off to a good start. So Kohli at three would be ideal,” he added.

India will play the first Test against Sri Lanka at the PCA stadium in Mohali, the match begins on March 4.

India’s Test squad against Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, R. Ashwin (subject to fitness clearance), Kuldeep Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain).

Also Read: IND vs SL: Shreyas Iyer Can Become A Very Good Option At No. 3 When Virat Kohli Is Unavailable: Sanjay Bangar