Former India opener Gautam Gambhir is one of the biggest critics of Virat Kohli’s captaincy but he often praises the India captain for his dominant run with the bat. His move to demote himself in the batting order has once again impressed Gambhir as he heaped praises on Kohli.
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Writing in his column for The Times of India, Gambhir opined that Kohli must be applauded for batting at number four to accommodate all the three openers. He also wrote that the India captain made a statement as a leader with this move.
“I think captain Virat Kohli should be applauded for batting at number four in Mumbai against Australia to accommodate Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul,” Gambhir wrote.
“I played 2011 World Cup at No. 3 as we thought Tendulkar and Sehwag were a better opening combo. It is a team game and you play for the country. Besides, Kohli is also making a subtle statement as a leader. He is trying to build a legacy that puts the team first. I am not a big fan of Kohli’s captaincy but then the guy is at least trying with good intent,” he added.
Kohli decided to sacrifice his number three spot for the openers as the team management cannot drop any of them. Vice-captain Rohit Sharma is a regular in playing XI while Shikhar Dhawan is also in good form in ODIs. KL Rahul’s white-ball form was too good to drop him from the playing XI and Kohli solved the conundrum by demoting himself.
Although, the punt did not do good to the team as Kohli got a chance to bat after 27 overs were bowled. Both Rahul and Dhawan scored 74 and 47 respectively but failed to accelerate in the middle-rovers which put the pressure on succeeding batsmen.
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Going into the second ODI, both Rahul and Dhawan are expected to be part of the playing XI but this time, Kohli should be back to bat at his original position. Rahul, who has batted at number four in ODIs, might be demoted as Kohli has to bat at number three for the team’s sake.
It is confirmed that Rahul will play the second ODI and will keep the wickets in the absence of Rishabh Pant. For the T20Is, Kohli will have an easy decision as Dhawan is below Rahul in the pecking order and many are expecting the left-handed batsman to sit out in the shortest format.
The second ODI of the series takes place in Rajkot today.