Virat Kohli is perfect for No. 4 spot: AB de Villiers
New Delhi, Aug 26: Virat Kohli would be the perfect answer for India's No.4 conundrum at the World Cup as he can put the innings together and play any kind of role in the middle order, feels South Africa great AB de Villiers.
India have struggled to find a suitable No.4 ever since Yuvraj Singh retired from cricket. With the 50-over World Cup less than two months away, there has been a lot of discussion around who will bat at the spot.
"We're still talking about who will be the No. 4 batter for India. I've heard some rumours about Virat possibly taking up that position. I would be a big supporter of that," de Villiers said on his Youtube channel.
"I think Virat is perfect for No. 4. He can put the innings together, play any kind of role in that middle order. I don't know if he would like to do that.
"We know he loves his No. 3 position; he's scored all his runs there, but at the end of the day, if the team needs you to do something, play a certain role, you have got to put your hand up and got for it," de Villiers added.
While Kohli prefers to bat one down, he has a decent record coming in at No. 4.
In 39 innings, he has scored 1,767 runs at an average of 55.21 and strike rate of 90.66.
However, it has been over three years since Kohli batted in the No. 4 position in January 2020 when he played against Australia in Mumbai.
Both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have recovered from their injuries and are a part of the 17-member Asia Cup squad.
Iyer has done 20 matches at No. 4, scoring 805 runs at 47.35 with two centuries and five fifties. He is most likely to reclaim the spot.
Earlier this week, skipper Rohit Sharma stressed on the need to have flexibility in the batting order.
Disappointed to see Chahal being dropped.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal failed to make the India squad for the Asia Cup as the selectors gave preference to wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and spin all-rounder Axar Patel.
"Chahal has been dropped, selectors making their intentions clear who they will be picking. It's a bit of disappointing drop for me, Yuzi is always very handy and it's great to have the leg-spinning option in your team. We know how skilful he is," de Villiers said.
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PM Modi becomes most followed world leader on Instagram with 100 million followers
New Delh (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has crossed the massive milestone of 100 million followers on Instagram, making him the first world leader and politician to achieve this feat on the platform, officials said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Modi joined Instagram in 2014, and over the past decade, his account has evolved into one of the most engaging digital spaces among global leaders, officials said.
Among major global leaders, Modi now has the highest number of Instagram followers. He has more than twice as many followers as US President Donald Trump on the social media platform.
The combined follower count of the next five major world leaders is still lower than Modi's individual total, officials said.
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US President Donald Trump holds the second spot with 43.2 million followers.
He is followed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto with 15 million followers, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with 14.4 million followers, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with 11.6 million followers and Argentine President Javier Milei with 6.4 million followers.
This underlines Prime Minister Modi's unmatched global outreach and popularity among the youth across the world, officials noted.
In India, the gap in followers is significant, as Modi is far ahead of other Indian political leaders on Instagram.
The second spot is held by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with approximately 16.1 million followers, followed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with approximately 12.6 million followers.
