'Don't think anybody can replace Virat at no.3 for some time, but...': Kohli's childhood coach makes huge statement
Virat Kohli has been rested for India's ongoing tour of the West Indies, that includes three ODIs and five T20Is.
The Indian team is playing without some of its major first-team players in the ODI series against West Indies. While Shikhar Dhawan leads the side in the absence of Rohit Sharma, a host of regular players like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah among others have also been rested. There were significant concerns over the decision to rest Kohli, however, who has been going through a rough patch with the bat over the past few months.
The 33-year-old former India captain had failed to cross the 20-run mark in six innings across all three formats of the game during the tour of England. In the two ODIs that he played on the tour, Kohli registered scores of 16 and 17. Notably, India's star batter has also been rested for the five-match T20I series.
During a discussion on DD Sports ahead of the second ODI of the series in Port of Spain, Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma opened up on the player's absence and on Shreyas Iyer, who has replaced him in the role at no.3. Rajkumar said that while Kohli's place in XI is never a doubt, the team needs to groom the youngsters.
“It is important. See, I don't think anyone can replace Virat Kohli at no.3 for some time, but we will have to develop youngsters at that position. And I think there will be many experiments on that position too. It isn't necessary that only Shreyas Iyer takes over that role,” Rajkumar said.
“He is a suspect against genuine fast bowling sometimes, especially against short-pitched deliveries. He has been dismissed on many occasions playing the short delivery in the past. I think his best position would be no.4 or no.5. He accelerates really well, he paces his innings well. By the time he arrives in either of those positions, the ball wouldn't be moving much and it is a high possibility he won't be targeted straightaway. So, I think he can be a better batsman (in that role),” he further added.
Kohli is likely to make a return to the Indian team in late August. It has also been reported that the former India skipper may opt to play in the Zimbabwe ODIs, scheduled for next month.
