KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma to open India’s innings, confirms Virat Kohli
The entire hullabaloo over what would be India’s opening combination in the T20 World Cup 2021 has been laid to rest as skipper Virat Kohli confirmed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will start the proceedings for Team India in the gala tournament. For the unversed, Kohli, during the T20I series against England this year, had said that he would open India’s innings in the T20 World Cup alongside Rohit.
However, KL Rahul enjoyed a sensational run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, making Kohli contemplate his decision. Meanwhile, Kohli gave the major update during the toss session of the warm-up game between India and England at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. The Indian skipper admitted he earlier planned to open the innings. However, Rahul’s heroics in IPL made him changed his decision.
It’s difficult to look beyond KL Rahul at the top of the order: Virat Kohli
“Things were different before IPL, now it’s difficult to look beyond KL Rahul at the top of the order. Rohit is a no-brainer. World-class player, he’s been solid upfront. I will be batting at 3. That’s the only news I can give to start off,” Kohli said during the toss. The decision didn’t surprise many as Rahul, while leading Punjab kings, scored heavy runs in the recently-concluded competition.
In 13 matches, he accumulated 626 runs with his average being 62.6 and 138.80 respectively. These numbers are nothing but stupendous and hence, the team management decided to slot Rahul at the top. Meanwhile, Kohli and Rohit Sharma weren’t really at their best in this year’s IPL.
Known for their stellar consistency, the Indian skipper and his deputy accumulated 405 and 381 runs with their average being below 30. Nevertheless, the veteran duo would like to get their mojo back by shinning the warm-up matches. Meanwhile, Kohli also asserted that India’s combination for their opening game against Pakistan on October 24 is pretty much sorted.
“Adaptability is what matters. People play different roles in their IPL teams. It’s about adapting quickly to this team now, who plays where is what matters. We are pretty sorted in terms of how we are going to start in the first game,” Kohli said.
