VVS Laxman explains why Virat Kohli’s 'experiment' won’t work

India suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Australia in the first ODI at Mumbai as they lost by ten wickets, thanks to a record stand of 258 between Aaron Finch and David Warner. One of the main reasons that got highlighted was skipper Kohli's decision to demote himself down the order.

Both KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan were in good touch and thus Kohli decided to accommodate both of them in the playing eleven and play himself at number 4. This was something that former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman felt was one of the major reasons why India failed to post a decent total.

“I don’t see this working. Sachin Tendulkar was the best player the world had ever seen. But he never relished batting at number four” Laxman told Star Sports after the end of the match.

“You want your best batsman to play the maximum number of deliveries and set the game up and finish the game for the team, especially against a quality attack. One cannot afford to experiment against this Australian bowling line-up,” he further added.

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Laxman insisted that if KL Rahul was to play in ODIs, he had to bat at number four as Kohli's number three spot should never be in question.

“I know you want to play KL Rahul because of his form and you also want to play Shikhar Dhawan because of his experience. But in ODIs, you have to play Rahul at number four. Virat Kohli has to bat at number three and set the game and finish the innings,” Laxman asserted.