Legendary South Africa batter AB de Villiers feels that Virat Kohli is the perfect number 4 batter for India who can provide the right balance and keep the innings together in the upcoming mega tournaments. India are in a big dilemma regarding the number 4 spot ahead of the ODI World Cup as Shreyas Iyer has not played competitive cricket in the last 7-8 months and the upcoming Asia Cup will be the only platform for him to prove his fitness before the ICC World Cup.
It’s not a new problem for India as they went through the same during the 2019 World Cup which hurt them in the semifinal against New Zealand. Several former players including Ravi Shastri have suggested Kohli at number 4 to get the right balance in the line-up.
De Villiers has also believed the same and said he will be a big supporter of that move.
“I would be a big supporter of that. I feel Virat is the perfect No. 4, can keep the innings together and play any kind of role in the middle order. I don’t know whether he would like to do that role. But at the end of the day, if the team needs you to do something and play a role, you got to put your hand up and go for it,” the South African great said on his YouTube channel.
The batting maestro has a decent batting record playing at Number 4 in ODIs as he scored 1767 runs in 42 matches at a sublime average of 55.21, with seven centuries.
In the past couple of years, India tried Shreyas Iyer and he managed to do well in the 20 matches he batted at the number 4 spot in which he scored 805 runs at 47.35 with two centuries and five fifties.
De Villiers also named his favourites for the upcoming continental tournament as he picked Sri Lanka as the underdogs.
“Pakistan and India are the favourites to win the Asia Cup. However, Sri Lanka have the ability to upset the bigger teams.”