Keep Virat Kohli at No.3 in World Cup: Ian Chappell

Sydney Describing Indias defence of the World Cup title as shaky former Australia captain Ian Chappell has advised them to keep star batsman Virat Kohli at number three to negate any opposition plans to bounce them out with shortpitched deliveries on lively pitches hereIndias World Cup defence is looking as shaky as Christchurch in the midst of an earthquake If India are to have any chance of successfully defending the World Cup trophy they will need the batsmen to score heavily The bowling has been profligate throughout the Australian tour and there are no signs that failing is about to be rectified Chappell saidVirat Kohli Pic AFPA good start to a resurgence would be to reinstate Virat Kohli at No 3 where he previously spent some time in ODIs With Rohit Sharma and Kohli at the top of the order India have their firepower to the fore an approach based on getting your retaliation in first Chappell said In addition it puts the two best players of the shortpitched ball front and centre and if its the intention of opponents to bounce the Indians out then these two could shortcircuit those plans very quickly he added Chappell said that India should replace struggling Shikhar Dhawan by Stuart Binny to open their innings with Rohit Sharma as this will also give them more bowling optionsAs Shikhar Dhawan continues to struggle under Australian conditions perhaps the time is right to open the batting with Binny He looks technically capable and this would give Dhoni another bowling option which appears to be a priority said Chappell in his column for ESPNcricinfoThe former Australian captain said that the Indian bowlers have not learnt anything from the Australian tour so far and also criticised the move to open bowling with Binny in their triseries match against England in Brisbane The Indian bowling has lacked consistency of line and length and the odd good delivery is bookended by a series of boundaryworthy balls This regular diet of deliveries asking to be plundered means the opposing batsmen never feel threatened or under pressure to pick up the scoring rate Add to that MS Dhonis maddening habit of occasionally tuning out of his captaincy duties and its a disturbing combination Chappell saidAn opening attack of Stuart Binny and Bhuvneshwar Kumar which India utilised at the Gabba is not going to have the opposition batsmen searching for sleeping pills There might be an argument for fitting Binny into the ODI side as an allrounder who can provide some runs and a few economical overs but certainly not as a newball bowler he saidDespite his batting woes young Akshar Patel looks okay with the ball A spin combination of Patel and R Ashwin might help give India some muchneeded control in those crucial middletolate overs and also provide some wickettaking impetus he addedChappell said India will have to sort out their bowling woes quickly if they have any chance of defending the title they had won in 2011 at home If India achieve nothing else in this triseries andthe way they have started its looking ever more doubtful they need to sort out the makeup of their attack for the World Cup With their major pool matches to be played in Australia one of them at the bouncy WACA adapting to prevailing conditions will be crucial for the bowlers So far they have shown no signs of making the adjustment to Australian pitches in either Tests or ODI matches Chappell saidIndia have placed so much emphasis on their World Cup campaign from the start of their tour its to be wondered if they are using the triseries as a rehearsal for the main show If that is their mindset then they need to change it quickly because sloppy play and a series of defeats is not the way to enter a major tournament If the idea was to lull the opposition into a false sense of security it has probably been successful he saidTheres no doubt that India need to sort out their bowling quickly if their defence of the World Cup is going to amount to a serious challenge However the bowlers could also gain some inspiration from a rejigged and more dominant batting order