Published 22:31 IST, January 14th 2020

Former India players give thumbs down to Kohli's number four move

Former India cricketers VVS Laxman, Sanjay Manjrekar and Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday gave a thumbs down to Virat Kohli's decision to bat at number four

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Former India cricketers VVS Laxman, Sanjay Manjrekar and Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday gave a thumbs down to Virat Kohli's decision to bat at number four in first ODI against Australia here. Kohli, whose usual batting position is number three, pushed himself down order to accommodate specialist openers Shikhar Dhawan and K L Rahul. Dhawan opened alongside Rohit Sharma while Rahul batted at three, disturbing combination that India employed successfully after World Cup in July, leading to a crushing 10-wicket loss at hands of Australia. 

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Former India players give thumbs down to Kohli's number four move

"I don't see this plan working (Kohli at 4). Even Sachin Tendulkar never liked batting at 4 (reference to 2007 World Cup). last team you would like to experiment against is Australia," Laxman told Star Sports.

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"w again it is too late to change combination. But may be Virat can come at 3 and Rahul at 4. Shikhar got some runs and so will have his confidence high," he said referring to Dhawan's 74.

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Spin great Harbhajan, who was also commentating on game, said Kohli is team's best batsman and he should stick to his usual batting position. "He has won so many games for India at number three. re is need to change that," said Harbhajan. Manjrekar added: "It is t a great move as it pushes Shreyas Iyer down to five after you gave him time to settle at number four (in earlier series). If India continue with this, it might be pushed to same situation that it was in past." Kohli came out to bat in 28th and lasted only 14 balls. "I would love it if I see Kohli comes to bat in 28th over," former Australia opener Matw Hayden said.

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22:31 IST, January 14th 2020