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Virat Kohli
India's loss to New Zealand in the World Test Championship final is being dissected in every possible way. Many cricket experts, former players, and fans have put in their opinion. There have already been many reports of changes that are being made in the Indian team. The popular opinion that is doing the rounds is whether or not Virat Kohli should bat at number 3 in the upcoming series against England.
The theory started from calls to drop Pujara from the team after his poor performance in the title match. However, if Kohli bats at number 3 then Pujara would have to sit out. But India would have to add another specialist batsman or an all-rounder to the team.
Analysis of Kohli playing at number 3
Virat Kohli doesn't play well at number 3. He has made just 61 runs from six innings including a half-century. But it is unfair to justify his position based on just numbers. He is a batsman of high caliber with numerous records under his belt.
Nevertheless, a majority of the runs Kohli has made is from batting at number 4. He has made a total of 6033 runs from 112 innings at 41.45 on average. But the idea of Kohli batting at number 3 might actually work for the team. It is his preferred batting position in the limited-overs format.
In ODIs, Kohli has made 10053 runs batting at number 3. He successfully maintained a good average of 62.44 and a 94.22 strike rate. So Kohli batting at number 3 won't be a bad idea.
Who would bat at number 4?
India has a lot of players to choose from to bat at number 4. The most obvious choice is definitely vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. But KL Rahul and Hanuma Vihari are also good options for India to mix up the batting lineup. However, Cheteshwar Pujara would then have to be benched from the playing XI.
In the title match, Pujara had scores of 8and 15 which highlighted the poor batting performance of India. Whereas, Virta Kohli's 44 and 13 runs along with Rahane’s 49 and 15 runs were considered average performance.