Business Standard

World Cup: AB de Villiers calls Virat Kohli perfect No.4 for Team India

Virat Kohli would be the perfect answer for India's No.4 conundrum at the World Cup as he can put the innings together and play any kind of role in the middle order, feels AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, RCB, IPL 2020

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli react after RCB vs KKR match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on the 12th October 2020. Photo: Sportzpics for BCCI

Press Trust of India New Delhi

Listen to This Article

Virat Kohli would be the perfect answer for India's No.4 conundrum at the World Cup as he can put the innings together and play any kind of role in the middle order, feels South Africa great AB de Villiers.

India have struggled to find a suitable No.4 ever since Yuvraj Singh retired from cricket. With the 50-over World Cup less than two months away, there has been a lot of discussion around who will bat at the spot.

Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp

"We're still talking about who will be the No. 4 batter for India. I've heard some rumours about Virat possibly taking up that position. I would be a big supporter of that," de Villiers said on his Youtube channel.

 

"I think Virat is perfect for No. 4. He can put the innings together, play any kind of role in that middle order. I don't know if he would like to do that.

"We know he loves his No. 3 position; he's scored all his runs there, but at the end of the day, if the team needs you to do something, play a certain role, you have got to put your hand up and got for it," de Villiers added.

While Kohli prefers to bat one down, he has a decent record coming in at No. 4.

In 39 innings, he has scored 1,767 runs at an average of 55.21 and strike rate of 90.66.

However, it has been over three years since Kohli batted in the No. 4 position in January 2020 when he played against Australia in Mumbai.

Both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have recovered from their injuries and are a part of the 17-member Asia Cup squad.

Iyer has done 20 matches at No. 4, scoring 805 runs at 47.35 with two centuries and five fifties. He is most likely to reclaim the spot.

Earlier this week, skipper Rohit Sharma stressed on the need to have flexibility in the batting order.

Disappointed to see Chahal being dropped

==========================

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal failed to make the India squad for the Asia Cup as the selectors gave preference to wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and spin all-rounder Axar Patel.

"Chahal has been dropped, selectors making their intentions clear who they will be picking. It's a bit of disappointing drop for me, Yuzi is always very handy and it's great to have the leg-spinning option in your team. We know how skilful he is," de Villiers said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Aug 26 2023 | 4:53 PM IST

Explore News