'Virat Kohli opens, Rohit Sharma at 3': India captain told to lose opening spot in unusual reshuffle for T20 World Cup
Rohit Sharma has been India's opener in white-ball cricket for over a decade, but has been asked to surprisingly lose the top-order spot by a former cricketer
India's T20 World Cup squad was announced on Tuesday, with no major surprises except Rinku Singh's snub. While both, Rinku and Shubman Gill have been put in the four-man reserves list, captain Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Virat Kohli have been picked as the side's top-order batters. Over the past few weeks, there have been relentless speculations over India's potential opening combination at the tournament; now that the squad is announced, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja has provided a rather unusual suggestion to solve the dilemma.
According to Jadeja, Kohli should open not alongside Rohit but Jaiswal, with the Indian captain following at the no.3 spot. Rohit has largely been India's opener across white-ball formats since 2013, and also opens for Mumbai Indians. Jadeja believes that pushing himself one position back will allow Rohit to get an understanding of the game situation.
Also read Rinku Singh snub explained, Virat Kohli's strike rate 'no concern': 5 takeaways from Rohit, Agarkar's T20 World Cup PC
"For me, Virat Kohli opens. Who goes back? Rohit Sharma bats at three. He gets a little cushion and gets to understand the game, he has so much going on, in his mind as a captain," Jadeja told Jio Cinema.
Jadeja further stated that Kohli guarantees consistency in the batting order, and the powerplay will allow him to settle at the crease and add runs on the board.
"If you have Virat in your side, you know consistency is the one thing you will get, so, might as well use him. He's best at the top and the powerplay allows him to settle in," he added.
While many – including former captain Sourav Ganguly – believe Kohli should open, Jadeja's suggestion for Rohit to come down at no.3 is unique. Rohit has batted at the third spot once in the batting order at the T20 World Cups in recent years (during the 2021 tournament), where KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan opening the innings. Kohli came at no.4 in the innings, as India could only put 110/7 on the board, eventually facing an 8-wicket loss.
Rohit, Kohli in ongoing IPL
While Rohit Sharma has had a mixed IPL season so far, Virat Kohli has consistently been among the runs for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Kohli was the first batter in the season to breach the 500-run mark, and is currently second in the Orange Cap list.
Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, has a century in the season but the knock remains is only 50+ score in 10 IPL games for the Mumbai Indians. He has 315 runs in the season.
