"Where was Kohli supposed to bat?" - Former India player stunned after Shreyas Iyer reveals he wasn't supposed to play 1st IND vs ENG ODI 2025

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has expressed his surprise at Shreyas Iyer's revelation that he would not have played the first ODI against England had Virat Kohli been fit. Kohli was ruled out of the series opener in a stunner due to a knee injury.

It meant India went with a top four of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer. Jaiswal was on ODI debut, forcing Gill to bat a position down from his customary opening position.

However, in a post-game interaction with the broadcasters, Iyer revealed he played only because Kohli was injured.

"As you all know I wasn’t supposed to play today. Virat unfortunately got injured and then I got the opportunity. I kept myself prepared. I knew that at any point of time I can get a chance to play," he said.

Chopra took to his X handle to question India's decision on Iyer's exclusion if Kohli had been fit and where Kohli himself would have batted. He posted:

“Trying to wrap my head around the revelation that Iyer wasn’t likely to play if Kohli was fit. He’s the first Indian to score 500+ runs batting at 4 in a World Cup. 2023. How could you bench him?? And if he wasn’t going to play, where was Kohli supposed to bat? At 4? Surely, Gill wasn’t getting pushed to 4,"

The surprise around Iyer possibly being excluded if Kohli was fit arose from his incredible ODI numbers. Iyer averages a stellar 47.69 at a strike rate of 102.14 with five centuries and 19 half-centuries in 63 outings.

The 30-year-old played a pivotal role in India's win in the first ODI against England, scoring a brilliant 59 off 36 deliveries.

"We all thought that Iyer would be 100% certainty" - Parthiv Patel

Iyer's counterattacking knock bailed India out of early trouble [Credit: Getty]

Former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel tried to make sense of Shreyas Iyer's possible omission from the playing XI had Kohli been fit for the first ODI, considering his excellent ODI numbers.

With a possible three-man race for two spots between Jaiswal, Gill, and Iyer, the latter two produced the goods in the opening ODI against England. While Iyer bludgeoned his way to 59, Gill held the innings together with a well-compiled 87 off 96 deliveries.

Meanwhile, Jaiswal endured a disappointing ODI debut, scoring only 15 off 22 balls.

"Interestingly, in the last 10 ODIs for India, Iyer's average is 60, and so does Shubman Gill. That is the reason why we all thought that Iyer would be 100% certainty. That is why you should just see Gautam Gambir and Rohit Sharma thinking what kind of combination India should go with in the next game because it looks like India want to go with Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma as openers and not Iyer in the middle order. So that would be very happy headache to have," said Patel on Star Sports [Via Hindustan Times].

It will be interesting to see which direction India takes on their top four should Kohli be fit for the second ODI in Cuttack on February 9.