Virat Kohli should field in the inner circle, feels former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar

Former India captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has expressed his preference to see current captain Virat Kohli to take bigger charges in one-day cricket and control things from inside the 30-yard circle. Kohli is often seen fielding in the deep positions to make India’s groundwork in the outfield stringer while the veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni is seen taking care of tactical field changes while consulting the bowlers.

Dhoni’s donning an influencer’s hat is seen to be a positive aspect of Kohli’s captaincy by Vengsarkar is not too sure whether it is an ideal way of approaching captaincy. Vengsarkar addressed various issues related to the Indian team, including who should bat at the much-debated No.4 position in the World Cup.

Captain in the inner circle

On the issue of fielding, the 62-year-old former cricketer while talking to India Today said: “Captain has to be in the inner circle. You can’t field in the deep and adjust fielding from there. You can see the match better from the circle. If he is going to field in the deep it is not going to help him at all.”

India lost their final two ODIs against Australia earlier this month and in both, Dhoni was not in the playing XI. For many, Kohli looked rusty as a captain in the absence of his predecessor who constantly gives inputs from behind the stumps. When asked if the 30-year-old needed to take greater charge of things, Vengsarkar said: “Absolutely. You can only field in the deep during the slog overs.”

‘Colonel’, as Vengsarkar is nicknamed, also backed India head coach Ravi Shastri’s view that Kohli should bat at No.4 for India in the upcoming World Cup. He said India needed to preserve their best batsman at No.4 in the bowling-friendly conditions in England during the mega tournament.

“I agree with Ravi. Because sometimes in English overcast conditions, if you lose early wickets, you may have to preserve Virat for No.4. because he is the best batsman in the world and in fantastic form. India depends heavily on him which is not a good thing because others have to perform,” he said. On Dhoni’s role, Vengsarkar said the keeper-batsman needs to fire in the World Cup.

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