Former Pakistan player Basit Ali feels India should demote Virat Kohli to No. 5 and put in-form Nitish Reddy in his place for the fifth and final Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Ali mentioned that Kohli is not learning from his mistakes and is getting out in a similar way in every match.
India lost to Australia by 184 runs in the fourth Test in Melbourne. Chasing 340 runs, the visitors managed just 155 in 79.1 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal amassed 84, but Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma were ordinary again.
Basit Ali lambasted the star batter for his display in Melbourne. He wants Kohli to move down the order and he is unable to solve his off-stump concern.
“It is time to promote Nitish Kumar Reddy to No.4 batting slot and drop Virat Kohli to No.5 because he is not scoring runs. He is getting out in a similar fashion.
“If you can’t contribute, drop down to the lower order. Rohit Sharma has done it but nobody is thinking about Virat Kohli because everyone is afraid of him,” he said.
Reddy scored his maiden Test ton in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. He has posted 294 runs in seven innings at an average of 49. Kohli has accumulated 167 runs from seven innings.
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