'My respect for Virat Kohli gone up' - Sanjay Manjrekar lauds veteran for relinquishing preferred batting spot

Virat Kohli was promoted to number three against New Zealand in the first innings of the first Test after India won the toss and brought Sarfaraz Khan in place of Shubman Gill. As Gill contracted a stiff neck, Kohli was asked to bat up the order. The move did not bear a good result as Kohli registered a nine-ball duck. He struggled to get going and Tom Latham exerted pressure by fielding six slips when he was on strike.

The star India batter has been batting at number four for a long time now. This was the first time he batted at number three since 2016 and has only done it seven times overall. Former India cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar lauded the veteran for keeping the team ahead of his own preference. He noted that the seniors usually do not tinker with their spots and Kohli is one fine example of the opposite.

Also Read: Why Virat Kohli batted at No.3 against New Zealand in Bengaluru Test

“Yes and also impressed and my respect for Virat Kohli gone up because we've seen many big names in the past refusing to budge from their position down the order come what may even if the team needed it desperately and so Virat Kohli was not in the best of forms but coming out and playing in these tough conditions at number 3,” Manjrekar said while speaking to ESPNcricinfo.

“I know he didn't get too many runs but that act itself you know pushing himself to number 3 because it was going to help the team is a great sign and something that we want to see more from our greats and Virat Kohli showed it so really happy about that,” he added

Virat Kohli has not been among the runs of late. During the Bangladesh series, he scored 99 runs in four innings. He was expected to come good against New Zealand at his home IPL venue, but the batter disappointed fans at the start of the day. Moreover, he is just 53 runs away from surpassing the 9000 run-mark in Tests.