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'Rohit Sharma Can Come One Down With Virat Kohli At 4...,' Ex-Pakistan Opener Wants Rohit Sharma To Bat At 3 In ODIs

image-lkqvp503Rohit Sharma did not play second ODI against West Indies (AP Photo)

Ex-Pakistan opener and skipper, Salman Butt has come up with an interesting suggestion for India ahead of the Asia Cup and World Cup. Butt has suggested some changes in India's batting order and wants Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to drop down the order. 

Butt also talked about inability of current crop of Indian players to stabilise the innings if the senior guys are absent. He added that in the earlier times, if the likes of Dhoni were rested in the past, there were players like Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh to take India forward.

This is what Salman Butt said on his YouTube channel,

“Clearly, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma didn’t play so everyone was on their own. They missed the duo’s presence. Earlier, when the likes of Dhoni and other main players were rested, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir or Yuvraj Singh would take care of the batting in their absence,"


"But the current players haven’t been able to establish themselves in ODI cricket. Before the World Cup, they have to sort it out."

Butt also rooted for Shikhar Dhawan's comeback at the top of the order and wants him to open the innings alongside Shubman Gill. He wants Kohli to bat at 4 while he suggested Rohit to bat at 4. He added that they need to sort their issues out before the World Cup as it has been evident that India is struggling to find players in the middle order with fitness concerns looming large over the likes of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.

“I think the way ODIs are played, if the new players aren’t able to perform on frequent basis, maybe you can have Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill opening, and maybe Rohit Sharma can come one down with Virat Kohli at 4. Then you can have Suryakumar and other players like KL Rahul. There are 3-4 players in this team who play in the opening role, and when they came down, the output isn’t the same,” he further added.

The current India- West Indies series is levelled at 1-1, and India's batting has been pretty below par in this series. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli did not play second ODI in a bid to give opportunities to youngsters in the side and it would be interesting to see what combination India goes with the final ODI at the Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad.