Will a 'demotion' help out of form Kohli?

KOCHI: Batsmen losing form is nothing unusual in cricket, but Virat Kohli's struggle at the crease has lasted for too long. What's even more worrying is that Kohli is being dismissed in a similar fashion game after game and it doesn't bode well for Team India as they look up to their No. 3 to deliver during the forthcoming tour of Australia and then the World Cup.

The series against West Indies is being seen as an opportunity for the 25-year-old to regain some confidence ahead of the demanding assignments that await him. But the indication that one got from his brief stay at the wicket in the series opener in Kochi on Wednesday, was that the demons of England have still not been conquered by Kohli.

Chasing a stiff target of 322 for a win, Kohli walked into bat at the fall of Ajinkya Rahane's wicket in the ninth over. West Indies strike bowler Jerome Taylor wasted no time in using the same method employed by James Anderson & Co in England to exploit the batsman's weakness outside the off stump.

Taylor bowled from wide of the crease and the ball held its line. Kohli, was neither forward nor back while trying to defend with a slightly angled bat. The ball took the edge and flew to first slip where Darren Sammy gleefully accepted the catch.

A disappointed Kohli trudged back to the pavilion prompting batting legend Sunil Gavaskar to suggest that the team management should now consider dropping Kohli down the order.

"India needs to look at how they can let an out-of-form Kohli to get back into form. Maybe, the team management should ask him to bat at No 4 or 5," Gavaskar told a television channel after the ODI in Kochi.

Former India opener Anshuman Gaekwad, too, echoed a similar view. "He is low on confidence and I think he should have been shifted to No 4 or 5 in England itself. We are already late. Dhoni should move him down the order immediately," the former India coach told TOI.

Gaekwad also made it clear the reasons on why Dhoni should opt for such a move.

"Kohli's problem has been his footwork or the lack of it. And that is why he has been exposed against the moving ball. There are certain habits you develop over a period of time and you are unable to iron out those when you play non-stop cricket. If he bats at four or five, the ball will be slightly older and he should be able to get runs again and win his confidence back. And once he is back amongst the runs bring him back to No 3," added Gaekwad.

Batting down the order is not alien to Kohli as he had batted at No 4 for most of the games during the 2011 World Cup.

Skipper Dhoni, however, isn't contemplating to change Kohli's batting position though he admitted that the batsman's lack of form is worrying.

"Yes. I can't say anything more because it's something I keep getting asked and I don't have an answer," said Dhoni on the mode of Kohli's dismissals before adding: "Hopefully he will come back to form as soon as possible. But you have to give him time. It's just a matter of time. It's something that's new for him, a lean phase, and hopefully he will get over it."

His next opportunity comes at a ground where took his baby steps in cricket, the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi. And it will be interesting to see whether Dhoni listens to suggestions made by former Indian openers or sticks with Kohli at No 3.

Virat should bat at No. 4 or 5: Sunny

NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over Virat Kohli's prolonged loss of form, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar on Thursday said that the talented batsman needs to be dropped down the order to get him back to his run-making ways.

"There are, of course, a lot of technical issues with his batting. But I believe that he should be dropped down the order. Bring him at number four or five than the usual one down position. Give him respite from the new ball. Let the openers give the team a bit of a start and that will allow Virat some cushion to come to the crease, settle down and then get going," Gavaskar told a TV channel.

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