Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir was all praise for Virat Kohli as he demoted himself to No. 4 in order to accommodate Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan in the battling line-up during the first ODI encounter against Australia in Mumbai. With all three major batsmen in the team, Kohli decided to not bat at his preferred No. 3 position and Gambhir believes that he should be applauded for his decision. The decision, however, did not do much for the hosts as they were beaten by 10 wickets with David Warner and Aaron Finch scoring centuries.
“I have come across a few cases where batsmen have been reluctant to leave their batting slots. This is largely done to safeguard their own interests rather than looking at the overall well-being of the team. These batsmen guard their position in the batting order so fiercely that at times they have even risked getting dropped,”
“Given this background, 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,” he said.
Gambhir has been a critic when it comes to Kohli’s captaincy but he pointed out that in this case, the Indian cricket team skipper is looking to create a legacy that ‘puts the team first’.
“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.
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