Virat Kohli at No. 3 or No. 4? Team still seems undecided

INDORE: The Indian think tank is still debating on the batting position of Virat Kohli in the ODIs. The problem had first reared its head during the tri-series on the Australian tour, when the team management wanted Kohli to bat at No. 4 while the batsman himself preferred to bat at No. 3. Ultimately, by the start of the World Cup, Kohli had his say and batted with success at his favoured batting position.With the team management's decision to include Rahane in the XI in the first ODI in Kanpur, the issue of batting slots came to the fore again. Ultimately skipper MS Dhoni had his say, by having Rahane bat at No. 3 and Kohli at 4.
At pre-match media briefing, when Rohit Sharma was asked if Rahane at No. 3 is a solution to the issue and was Kohli's position being compromised due to this, he said: "It's a thought we need to look at carefully, and what we do with our players as to the batting order."
He further said: "It depends on what MS (Dhoni) thinks about it. I know Virat has scored most of his runs batting at No. 3, and Ajinkya just played at No. 3 and got some runs. But I don't know if it's a permanent solution. But time will tell as to what will be the ideal batting line-up for us."
The elegant batsman, who scored a valiant 150 in a losing cause in the Kanpur ODI, said: "Numbers 3, 4 and 5 are very crucial positions, as we saw in the last game. They are crucial positions in any format, not just the ODIs. I feel completely and entirely dependent on what MS thinks about it. Obviously we have Ravi Shastri, B Arun and (Sanjay) Bangar who get that thought process going. They'll come out with a solution. And whatever they decide to do, it'll be best for the team."
Sharma felt that it will take a couple of more games to find the best combination. " At the moment, yes, we're trying to find out what will be the best combination going forward. But in the next few games, we'll have a proper batting line-up. But yes, batting order also players a crucial role and we need to get this going. It's (second ODI in Indore) an important game. So we have to get the combination and the batting-order right," he opined.
He also agree that bowling at death was a concern for the team too as the bowlers leak a lot of runs which puts pressure on the batting line-up while chasing. "See, it's a concern. There's no doubt and we cannot run away from that. But, when you're bowling to someone like AB de Villiers and all those kinds of players, you have to be extra smart and be more proactive, as to what they do and what kind of shots they play. It's a concern, and I'm sure all the fast bowlers are working on it."
He further said: "I feel, in the last few games we've played, not only against South Africa but in Bangladesh and Australia as well, we were making small mistakes in the last five or ten overs. That shouldn't be a concern now because we've one more extra fielder in the outfield now. I'm sure we can plan accordingly and get the best results in our favour."
Talking about his phenomenal batting record in ODIs in India, Rohit said: "It's just not about batting in India, anywhere in the world, I want to keep going. Being a top order batsman it is a responsibility to bat through the innings and get your team to a winning position. I want to bat as much as possible not just in India but everywhere in the world. In India, obviously you play all your cricket here and you know the conditions much better than any other places in the world. So there is a slight advantage when you play in India. You also know the outfield better. Whenever you bat, you try and make the most of it. I always try to bat as long as possible. In the past few years it has always been my effort to bat as deep as possible and get the team to a good position."