Every former cricketer or every pundit worth their salt, whenever they pick their choice for the playing eleven, has always put Virat Kohli at number 4. The latest is Wasim Jaffer who wants Padikkal to bat at number 3. It essentially means that he does not want to disturb Kohli from his usual spot. My question is why protect Kohli? It is onething to stick to one’s position when the going is good but it is completely another to stick to the same position when the going is pretty difficult. All these former cricketers do not seem to understand the needs of the team and the importance of experience. In my opinion, Kohli must not be protected. What did Wasim Jaffer say about the possible playing eleven for the first Test at Perth?
“I believe Padikkal should be played at No. 3, he has played Tests for India before and is familiar with that number. He has scored runs there and is also a left-handed batsman, so he deserves to play at No. 3,” Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.
First of all, he is wrong at the very outset. Padikkal has played only one Test for India and that as a middle-order batsman. He batted at number 4 against England and held himself well. Even for his state team, he does not bat at number 3. He is a middle order batsman. That is where he batted even for India A in Australia. So, Jaffer’s comment that Padikkal is familiar with number 3, is plain wrong. I do not mind Padikkal in the eleven, afterall, in a side where no one can be trusted to score runs on this trip, what is wrong with one more youngster? However, I will have him in the lower middle-order rather than in the top 3.
Why protect Kohli?
Kohli is the most experienced in the current lot. He has toured Australia multiple occasions and he batted exceptionally down under. Even In the absence or the presence of Rohit Sharma, he is the most capped Indian cricketer in the current lot. The rest, Gill, Jaiswal, Sarfaraz, Sundar, Padikkal do not have that much experience at the highest level with the exception of Gill. On a pitch that is expected to bounce, if India were to bat first, they will need all the experience that they can find to dodge the first and second sessions. The Australian bowlers are fresh after a prolonged rest and they are all raring to bowl at their best.
Usually, at Perth, they are at their confident best. It is a ground where Starc has done pretty well and so has Lyon. Cummins, we do not even have to ask because of his supreme skills. How are youngsters like Padikkal or Sarfaraz expected to lead the resistance against them? This is where every former cricketer and the so-called pundits get it wrong. If Pujara is in Australia, that is a different story altogether. Number 3 was reserved for him. The situation is completely different now. There is no Pujara and there is severe lack of experience of playing in Australia. This is where Kohli must make himself accountable.
Kohli must volunteer himself to bat at number 3. India need all the experience at the top. Especially following a disastrous New Zealand series where the batting failed miserably, it is time the batsmen made amends. For that, Kohli’s experience and skill is vital. Among the current lot, it is Kohli who has the ability to confront the likes of the Australian seamers. With the bounce on offer, his skill is important.
The infatuation must stop
Why is that in India, the premier batsman must bat only at number 4? What is this infatuation? The former cricketers must not support this but they are they ones who advocate for the premier batsman to bat at that position. Ricky Ponting, who was Australia’s best batsman of his era, played at number 3. So did Jacques Kallis until the advent of one Hashim Amla, who made the position his own. There are so many examples of the best batsman of the team, batting at number 3. It is only in India or Asia, that this is not the case.
Take the case of one Sachin Tendulkar. He was one batsman who refused to be removed from his ivory tower. For him, his position was number 4 and no one can move him anywhere else. Others, including Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly where shuffled around him. Sehwag even opened the innings but Tendulkar would not move. The hue and cry when he was made to bat in the middle-order in ODIs made every Indian fan frustrated.
The same is happening with Kohli. Others can be shuffled around. A youngster on his first visit to Australia, a land where visiting teams have found the going to be tough, can bat at that position but not Kohli. The reasoning, if an early wicket falls, Kohli will not be exposed. Kohli must be exposed exactly for that purpose. He is the one with the technique and expertise to succeed against the new-ball. If he is afraid to front up, what is the point of having him in the team? If he could score runs from that position, imagine the confidence that it will give to the youngsters who will follow. How Kohli would have eased the situation for the batsmen to follow?
Wrapping up why protect Kohli?
I think for the sheer experience he possess and the experience of batting in Australia, it is Kohli who must bat at number 3. No need to protect him from anyone. He has already played enough for every bowler to know his strength and weakness. Let your premier batsman take charge from number 3 and see the progress of the series.
Other BGT blogs
https://icricketcritique.com/the-border-gavaskar-series/
https://icricketcritique.com/australia-clearly-is-the-favourite/
https://icricketcritique.com/series-between-unequal/
https://icricketcritique.com/so-the-perth-test/
https://icricketcritique.com/indias-likely-playing-eleven/