Shreyas Iyer has replaced Virat Kohli during the ongoing ODI series against West Indies at number 3, as senior players like Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant among others have given time away before the T20I series.
Shikhar Dhawan has been leading Team India in place of Rohit, while the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson have been given a chance in the ODIs. Amid Kohli’s ongoing slump with the bat, the 33-year-old has been given extra time off as he will take no part in the T20I series either.
He struggled to cross the 20-run barrier in India’s recently concluded tour of England, managing just 76 runs in six innings.
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During a discussion about Kohli’s future with the Indian team, his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma on DD Sports talked about how the Men in Blue do not have a replacement for the talismanic batsman at the moment, while he also spoke about Shreyas Iyer’s performances of late.
“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,” said Sharma.
Further shedding light on Iyer’s struggles against the short ball, Kohli’s childhood coach said that the 27-year-old batsman from Mumbai would fare better if comes out to bat at number 4, or 5.
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“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,” added Sharma.
He continued, “He (Iyer) 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).”
Kohli is expected to return to the Indian team before the Asia Cup with reports claiming that he could feature in the ODIs against Zimbabwe.
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