"Kohli should go at No.3" - Sunil Gavaskar advises the former India skipper

As India begins their transitional journey from the upcoming Sri Lanka Test series, the team management is left to ponder upon a few things and make moves. With Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara dropped from the squad, India are currently in search of batters who can fill in the vacant spots after veterans' exclusion.

With plenty of options available on the table, captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid are forced to scratch their heads. While Rohit and Mayank Agarwal are likely to open, there is a spot open for the number three position.

Youngsters Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill are the probable batters who can replace Pujara at the said position. However, the legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar gave reasoning of his own as he advised the former India skipper Virat Kohli to push himself up in the batting order.

Citing examples of the best batters of other prominent teams, Gavaskar mentioned that number three is an ideal position for Kohli to bat and help India in the transition phase.

"Ideally, Kohli should go at No.3. Because the best batsman you see…Ricky Ponting goes at 3. Joe Root bats at No.4, but I feel he will be batting at No.3 in West Indies. So the best batsman of the team is batting at No.3. He is capable of tackling the new ball in case there is an early wicket and he has also got the ability to up the tempo of the team has got off to a good start. So Kohli at three would be ideal," Gavaskar said as quoted to India Today.

The 72-year-old further added that if not Kohli, Hanuma Vihari can fill in Pujara's shoes.

"Otherwise, you can look at Hanuma Vihari, who has done well in South Africa and showed a lot of courage.

Gavaskar did not seem surprised by the decision to axe Rahane and Pujara and asserted that it was on the cards.

"It was expected. If in the three Tests in South Africa, one of them had hit a century or played an innings of 80-90 runs, then it would have been a different matter. Yes, Ajinkya Rahane played an attractive knock. But apart from that, there weren’t enough runs from them when it was expected and when the team needed the runs," he concluded.

India will play a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting from March 4.