India’s batting lineup had to change a little when Shubman Gill couldn’t play in the first Test against New Zealand. Without Gill, Virat Kohli moved to the number 3 position and Sarfaraz Khan batted at number 4. Both Kohli and Sarfaraz got out without scoring any runs, which made many people wonder if the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and the captain, Rohit Sharma, made the right choices.
India’s plans didn’t work well in the first innings, and former player Dinesh Karthik questioned the decisions made by the team management, especially by coach Gambhir.
Karthik didn’t try to defend Kohli’s poor performance, but he also said that Gambhir should have put either KL Rahul or Sarfaraz Khan at the number 3 spot instead.
“I’m not trying to protect Virat Kohli. He has the skills and mindset of some of the best batters ever. If I make a change, it’s because I think that player will do well in that spot, not because I want to protect Virat Kohli. He bats at number 3 in ODIs and opens in T20s. Now, you might say the ball behaves differently, but in Test cricket, I believe the best place for Virat Kohli is at number 4,” he said on Cricbuzz.
Karthik also praised Kohli for stepping up and taking on the challenge at number 3, which is his position in ODIs. Even though this move didn’t work out well for Kohli, Karthik thinks Gambhir should also take some responsibility for the team’s poor performance on Thursday.
“It’s also worth praising Virat Kohli. He could have easily said, ‘No, let me bat at number four, because you can put KL Rahul or Sarfaraz Khan at number three.’ The coach might have agreed and handled that situation. But the fact that Virat said, ‘No, I’m happy to bat at number three,’ shows his attitude. Results are important, and today things didn’t go his way, but the fact that India is in a position where players are willing to adjust and respect the coach’s ideas is significant. I wouldn’t say it was the right decision. Personally, I still think KL should have batted at number three, but that’s my opinion. I definitely don’t agree with Gambhir’s idea of keeping the same batting order for consistency and hoping the results will follow,” he added.
