Out-of-the-Box Virat Kohli Suggestion for Gambhir Before Perth Test: 'Best Bet for No.3'

Out-of-the-Box Virat Kohli Suggestion for Gambhir Before Perth Test: With only a few days remaining until the first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India will be upset to find that both their star players, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, will be unavailable in the series opener against Australia in Perth. While captain Rohit has chosen to spend time with family following the birth of a second child, Shubman Gill picked up an injury during the match simulation against India A at WACA, Perth. The right-handed Gill sustained a fracture on left thumb while trying to hold onto that catch at a slip position.

Now, it will be interesting to see who bats at No.3 in place of Shubman, and former India cricketer Kirti Azad, who was a member of the 2983 World Cup winning team has advised the team to pick Virat Kohli.

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Of course it must be mentioned that Virat Kohli had batted in third place while Shubman Gill could not play in the first test of the three-match series against New Zealand because of a stiff neck. However, Kohli's return at this batting position has a dark background because in the last 8 innings of him, he scored no more than 167 runs.

His average is only 23.85, scoring one fifty, while playing at number three position. These negative figures notwithstanding, Kirti Azad is of the opinion that Virat Kohli is the best option for that critical slot vacated by Shubman.

“I think Kohli is the best bet for number three. He has scored runs at number three (across all formats). And you should always have your best batter at number three. We start with questioning players if they don't do well, maybe in a series or maybe a couple of innings," Kirti Azad told Times of India.

Virat Kohli is coming into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the midst of a lot of criticism concerning his current form. There is little doubt that the 36-year-old has not managed to get more than two Test centuries in the past four years. Out of his last ten innings, he has only scored once more than 50 runs.

Nevertheless, history suggests that Kohli’s order should no longer be bothered in worrying ways once he steps foot on Australia. He has done better than 1300 runs in 13 tests in Australia.

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Last time out, when Virat Kohli came in to bat at the third position in Bengaluru against the Kiwis, he scored a duck in the first innings. Notably, during his very next outing, the batsman batted in the same position to score 70 runs as well.

"But I suppose he has done a humane service for the country, and we expect him to do well again. And I'm sure he'll get into form. He likes challenges, though this is a tough one in Australia," Kirti Azad said.

The question that remains is whether the management will persist with Virat Kohli at No.3, after having done so, in the last series only. Rohit Sharma will not captain the team and instead Jasprit Bumrah will take charge for the Perth Test against Australia starting November 22.

India squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, and Nitish Kumar Reddy Washington Sundar.

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