Veteran Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar recently commented about India’s long-standing problem of batting at 4th and how Virat Kohli was used as a ‘scapegoat’.
With the ODI World Cup 2023 fast approaching, Team India will be focused on refining their roster that will compete in the major event.
The argument over the number four batter, on the other hand, has been a persistent talking topic for Team India. India have struggled to identify suitable players to fill the number four position throughout the years.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri recently stated that he had multiple conversations with the selectors about Virat Kohli batting at number 4 and filling the middle-order vacuum in the ODI World Cup 2019.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar was one of the cricketers who was against the idea of Kohli coming in to bat in the middle order.
Sanjay Manjrekar comments on Virat Kohli being a ‘scapegoat’
“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 in a segment at Star Sports.
Furthermore, former Australian cricketer Tom Moody shared Shastri’s viewpoint. Making sense of Tendulkar’s middle-order batting in the 2007 World Cup, Moody believes Kohli batting at number 4 is an easy solution, but it is up to Kohli whether he wants to do it or not.
“There is also a cultural issue in Indian cricket. In the 2007 World Cup, 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,”
Tom Moody said.
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