Unko bolna hai, mujhe upar khelna hai...' - Mohammad Kaif dwells deep about Indian allrounder's batting position

Mohammad Kaif and Virat Kohli (Source: Twitter)

Deepak Hooda has been a good addition to the Indian T20I side with him having the ability to play a role in the middle order and also chip in with some handy overs with the ball with his off spin as well. Though he has been slotted in the middle order, he has not been able to get the runs for India.

When he has got the runs, he has batted at the top of the order for India in the absence of the senior players. When he smashed a hundred against Ireland he batted in the top order. In the series against New Zealand Hooda had been given the role of batting in the middle order as the top order was already set.

Ahead of the Third T20I, When he was asked about his preferred spot in the batting order, this is what he had to say,  "I would like to bat at 5, we have a legend playing at 3 and I have to be realistic, I can't get that spot (smiles). It's a problem at times to adapt to batting at 5 or 6, but I have done that role as I am a utility player and need to play according to the situation of the game," Hooda said.

Dissecting Hooda’s statements former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif said that, "Woh thoda atak gaye the, unko atakna nahi hai, unko bolna hai ki mujhe upar khelna hai. I want to do well for India, mujhe khelna hai. KL Rahul k jagah ana hai mujhe, Virat Kohli ko replace karna hai. Unko bolna padega, woh waha darr gaye thoda. Woh bol gaye top 3 nahi main neche hi theek hu. Unhe ghabrana nahi hai. Mujhe top three mein khelna hai, ye agar unki mansikta hogi toh hi unke liye faida hai."

(He hesitated there, he shouldn't do that. He should say 'I want to bat higher up the order. I want to do well for India. I want to play in place of KL Rahul, I will replace Virat Kohli.' He needs to say this without getting frightened. He can only do well for India if he has that sort of mindset)," Kaif said. Ajit Agarkar also echoed similar sentiments saying , "Woh kehna chahte the ki mujhe teen number khelna hai but socha nahi rehne dete hai. (He wanted to say that 'I'd want to bat at No.3 but wasn't able to)," added Agarkar.

"I am a batting all-rounder, so scoring runs is very important, but I'm working on my bowling as well and want to chip in whenever the team needs me. I have been playing as an all-rounder since my debut, I have worked hard on my bowling over the last 3 months, even when I'm not featuring in the team," Hooda concluded.