'I am not protecting Virat Kohli' - Dinesh Karthik scrutinises Gautam Gambhir's tactics in Bengaluru Test

India had to make some changes to their batting order in Shubman Gill's absence in the first Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. They decided to push Virat Kohli to No. 3 and sent Sarfaraz Khan, who replaced Gill, at No. 4.

Both batters couldn't get off the mark and questions were raised regarding the decision taken by the head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma. Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik raised some tough questions over the calls taken by the team management, especially the head coach Gambhir.

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While Karthik refused to defend Kohli over his disappointing performance in the first innings, where he recorded a nine-ball duck, the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru player opined that No. 4 is the most suitable place in the batting order for the talismanic cricketer.

"I am not protecting Virat Kohli. He has the temperament and technique of some of the greatest batters that have ever played. If I make a change, it is because I believe that player will do well there, not because I want to protect Virat Kohli. He walks in at no. 3 in every ODI, he opens in T20, now you can say the ball is different, it's not moving as much, 100 percent, in Test cricket where is the best suited place for Virat Kohli, no. 4," he said on Cricbuzz.

I feel personally KL Rahul should have batted at three: Dinesh Karthik

Karthik lauded Kohli for agreeing to face the music and walking out to bat at No. 3 on a spicy pitch, where the New Zealand seamers had their tails up. However, the wicketkeeper-batter feels that KL Rahul would have been the ideal choice to bat at No. 3. According to Karthik, Gambhir also deserves a bulk of the blame for the home side's forgettable outing with the bat on Thursday.

"Commendable on Virat Kohli also, he could have easily said, 'no, let me bat at four, because you can put KL Rahul or Sarfaraz Khan at three.' Coach would have said, 'fine, I will manage that conversation.' The fact that he said, 'no, I am happy to go at three,' tells you the mindset," Karthik said.

"Results are one thing, obviously it hasn't gone his way today, but just the fact that India is at a place where people are willing to adapt and at the same time give respect to what the coach thinks, I won't say it is the right decision. I still feel personally KL should have batted at three, that's what I feel, that's different. But I definitely don't follow Gambhir's thinking of let's have the same batting order, so that there's consistency in their thought process and eventually the results will come out," he added.

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India were dismissed for 46 as Matt Henry bagged a five-for on Day 2. New Zealand have taken a lead of over 300 runs in their first innings on Day 3 and India will have to play out of their skins to muster a turnaround from this position.