Ravi Shastri makes stunning point while explaining why he wanted Virat Kohli to bat at No. 4 in 2019 World Cup

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Ravi Shastri, the former India coach has revealed that he wanted Virat Kohli to bat at number four in the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.

The former India all-rounder made a stunning point to explain his decision, saying that his idea was to "break that top-heavy batting line-up" of the team which consisted of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.

Ravi Shastri explained that Kohli at four would have given more stability at number four in case there was a top-order collapse. He pointed out that the former India captain's numbers while batting at four in ODIs are also solid.

"If Virat has to bat at four, he will bat at four in the interest of the side. You know, there were times I thought of it. Even in the previous two World Cups, when I was coach in 2019, I thought I might have discussed that with MSK as well of him batting at four just to break that top heavy line up," Shastri said on Star Sports' Selection Day show.

"You know, because if we lost two or three at the top, we were gone and it was proved so just for reaching that the experience. And if you look at Virat Kohli's record, he is good enough at number four," the former India all-rounder added.

Virat Kohli has scored 1767 runs in 39 matches at an average of 55.21 with the help of seven centuries and eight fifties while batting at number four in the 50-over format.

The comments from Shastri come at a time when India are struggling to fix their middle-order conundrum with less than two months left before the start of 2023 World Cup. The injuries of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have increased the headache of captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid.