Ravi Shastri on finding India's best No.4: 'It is very easy'

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Team India coach has the answer to a long-standing problem in Indian cricket and it is one that could in the end, be a very viable option but not many would approve of it.

Speaking to The Hindu, Shastri said that India can have the best No.4 in the world if they please but soon backtracked to biding time and giving others opportunities.

"It is very easy for us to drop Kohli to No. 4. Then you will have the best No. 4 in the world. But it takes time.

"Shreyas Iyer has been excellent in recent months. He can be a really good No. 4," Shastri said about who could be India's No.4 with the T20 World Cup coming up next year.

So far, India have fiddled with the India of sending Kohli at No.4 but in the end, the plan has never materialised as chopping and changing has continued. Before the World Cup India tried Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu but all none were persisted with. In the World Cup, Rahul, Vijay Shankar and Pant were tried but following the tournament, Shreyas Iyer was given the opportunity.

Iyer so far has done well and scored runs against West Indies. He scored 71 and 65 in the two ODIs against the Windies and looked settled in the slot, something that neither of the above-mentioned manage to achieve over the past two years.

The 57-year-old also spoke about the philosophy of the Indian team and cited Kuldeep Yadav's exclusion from the Test team despite picking up a five-wicket haul in his last game in whites at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"This Indian team is about the Team and not individuals. Some tough calls have to be made. Imagine, Kuldeep Yadav not playing a Test since his five-wicket innings haul in Sydney. It is never nice or easy to tell people who have performed that you are not picked. But this is about the Team," Shastri said.