Can Virat Kohli be replaced from No 3 spot in T20Is? Sunil Gavaskar on former skipper and Shreyas Iyer’s position

The T20I series against Sri Lanka has seen the growth of batter Shreyas Iyer, who with his half-centuries in all 3 matches, made sure to more or less seal his spot. While he helped the Men in Blue crush the visitors 3-0 in the T20I series, one question that has been lingering in everyone’s mind is the batter playing position.

The now Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper was hammering the Lankan bowlers all around the park and also walked away with the Player of the Series award, but he did most of the work playing at No 3 or so.

However, when one talks about the No 3 spot, it is a known fact that it belongs to former Indian skipper Virat Kohli. So with such Iyer in such good form and Kohli rested for the series, will it hamper the former captain’s spot in the team?

Talking about the same, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said that when Virat Kohli returns back to the Indian side, he will continue to play at No. 3 and added that a player of Kohli’s stature is irreplaceable. Talking about Iyer, Gavaskar opined that he can either be slotted in at No. 4 or No. 5 in the batting order.

“It’s a great problem to have. Obviously, Virat Kohli can’t be replaced. He will probably come in at No.3, there is no question about it. But then you can use somebody like a Shreyas Iyer at No. 4 or 5. Suryakumar, the way he has been batting, he is got to be included. It is just the plus, plus as far as the team is concerned,” Gavaskar in a chat on Star Sports said.

Gavaskar also added that because of India’s strength in the batting department, they could field an all-out bowling attack, and not look for bowlers who can also bat. He stated that India can field pure bowlers like Avesh Khan and Mohammed Siraj on their side.

“There are so many options. And it allows you to go in with pure bowlers and not bowlers who can bat. With a top-batting line-up, you can go in with someone like Mohammed Siraj or Avesh Khan, who is not known as a batsman. You don’t have to look for someone who can bat like Shardul Thakur or Deepak Chahar or Bhuvneshwar Kumar. You might think in terms of all-out attack,” concluded Sunil Gavaskar.