“Virat will bat at four for the team": Ravi Shastri

NEW DELHI: Former Indian head coach and all-rounder Ravi Shastri said that Virat Kohli should drop down the order during the upcoming Asia Cup and ICC Cricket World Cup, adding that he had even thought of it when he was the coach during the 2019 World Cup in England. In a conversation with Star Sports, he also said Ishan Kishan should open the batting and Virat, skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill should adjust to new positions, if needed.

Shastri added that moving Virat down the order will also break up the heavy top order and add some experience and batting depth to the lower-middle order. "Ishan Kishan should bat right at the top of the order. Rohit as a captain is vastly experienced. He can go in at three. he can go at four. This is where you have to see the player's frame of find. How will Shubman Gill feel if asked to bat No.3 or No.4 as opposed to batting at the top? No one owns a position. If Virat has to bat at four, he will bat at four for the team," Shastri said on Star Sports.

Shastri revealed that the thought of asking Virat to drop down the order had crossed his mind while he was the head coach of Team India during the last edition of the World Cup in England.

"There were times when I thought of it even in the previous two World Cups. I might have discussed that with MSK (former Chief Selector MSK Prasad) of him batting at four, just to break that top-heavy line-up. If we lost two or three at the top, we were gone. And it was proved so just for breaking that, you need experience," Shastri said.

"If you look at Virat Kohli's record at No.4, it's quite good," Shastri added.

While Virat is the best all-format batter in the world currently and, arguably, the best ever across formats, his most prolific format is ODIs. In 275 ODIs and 265 innings, he has scored 12,898 runs at an average of 57.32 and a strike rate of over 93. He has 46 centuries and 65 half-centuries against his name in this format, with the best score being 183.

He has made the number three spot his own over the years. In 210 innings at this spot, he has scored 10,777 runs at an average of 60.20, with 39 centuries and 55 fifties. At number four as well, Virat has had a solid record. In 39 innings in that position, he has scored 1,767 runs at an average of 55.21, with seven centuries and eight fifties.

Shastri also gave examples of New Zealand batter Kane Williamson, Australian star Steve Smith and England's Joe Root, who form the modern 'Fab Four' with Virat, in a bid to encourage him to innovate with his template of batting, which has given him a lot of success in previous outings.

"You have got to evolve with the game no matter how big a player you are. The same applies to Virat Kohli. There is no question about it. You watch around the world, look at players like Joe Root, Steve Smith for that matter Kane Williamson and Kohli himself at certain stages of his career, they all have had to evolve. There are innovations (happening every now and then). There are players who want to up the ante. There's a different template in place at the moment," he said.

Virat has been in great form this year, so far. In 10 ODIs this year, he has scored 427 runs at an average of 53.37, with two tons and a fifty and a best of 166 against Sri Lanka. In 17 matches across formats this year in 19 innings, he has scored 984 runs at an average of 54.66 with four centuries and two fifties. His best score is 186 against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.