The massive speculations surrounding what Team India’s opening order should be at the T20 World Cup has now been put to rest. Captain Virat Kohli indicated that he will be batting at his usual number 3 position despite suggesting otherwise earlier this year.
Ahead of the toss in the warm-up match against England, the Indian captain mentioned that circumstances have changed and KL Rahul’s form makes him the perfect opening partner for seasoned campaigner Rohit Sharma. Although Kohli opened the batting alongside Devdutt Padikkal for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021, he will go back to his middle-order position.
“We are pretty sorted in terms of how we are going to start in the first game. Outside of that, we just want to give an opportunity to guys in these games as much as possible. We will look to give game-time to most of them. Things were different before the IPL.
“Now it’s difficult to look beyond KL Rahul at the top of the order. Rohit is a no-brainer. A world-class player, he’s been solid up front. I will be batting at No. 3. That’s the only news I can give to start off,” said Kohli.
The 32-year-old has been a regular fixture in the number three position in India’s white ball teams for quite a while now. However, towards the beginning of the year there were some suggestions that opening the batting would be a better option for Virat Kohli because of KL Rahul’s poor form and also to accommodate more fire-power in the middle-order.
Those plans have taken a backseat because of the stupendous manner in which Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul batted during the latest season of the Indian Premier League. Rahul showed his class and consistency throughout the competition and also seemed to be in marvelous touch in UAE. In fact, he finished third in the Orange Cap race behind winner Ruturaj Gaikwad and runners-up Faf du Plessis who won the IPL with CSK.
KL Rahul had amassed 635 runs in just 13 matches during the most recent IPL season. Although Punjab Kings were far from a good campaign, Rahul dazzled the crowds with six half-centuries. He finished with a sensational batting average of 63.20 and had a strike rate of 138.80 this season.
Rahul also shone in the warm-up match against England. He opened the batting with Ishan Kishan and took little time to get off the blocks. He scored a half-century at a strike rate of 212.50 and his innings included six fours and three sixes as India secured a straightforward victory.
