KL Rahul Will Be The First Choice Opener, Prithvi Shaw Lacks Consistency - Salman Butt On India's Openers For T20 World Cup

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt weighs in the opening options India have in T20Is for the T20 World Cup scheduled in October-November.

The last opening pair that India fielded was that of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the fifth T20I versus England at home. However, that could be scrapped as KL Rahul returned to form in the IPL 2021, and skipper Kohli had earlier mentioned Rohit-Rahul as their first-choice opening combination.

Apart from that, Shikhar Dhawan, who was dropped after the first T20I against England, has been in supreme form for the past couple of IPL seasons where he has specifically worked on his powerplay game.

Salman Butt opined that KL Rahul should be a lock at the opening slot for the T20 World Cup, as not just with his batting, but the Punjab Kings skipper also provides a wicket-keeping option, which could give Kohli a place to field an extra batsman or bowler.

“It is a good headache for India that they are spoilt for choices. They have a lot of players who are very good players and can play at the international level,” Salman Butt said on his YouTube channel.

“They currently have a set-up wherein KL Rahul opens. He also keeps wickets and that’s an added advantage for him because he’s a pure batsman who does wicketkeeping, so he brings more balance to the team. The captain has a choice to play either an extra bowler or an extra batsman or whatever he wants to do. So, I feel he will be the first choice,” he added.

Shaw is playing too many shots too early: Salman Butt

The 36-year-old commented on Prithvi Shaw, who has made a compelling case for inclusion in India’s T20 setup following his freakish form in Vijay Hazare Trophy – 827 runs at a strike rate of 138.29 – and for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2021 – 308 runs striking at 166.49 – so far.

However, Salman Butt feels Shaw “lacks consistency” because he plays too many attacking shots, while the Indian team have titles more towards top-order batters who have more stability.

“There is no dearth of talent in Prithvi Shaw and he has scored runs. But I still believe he is playing too many shots too early because of which he lacks consistency. Usually, they (India) go in with stable players, who are more dependable and those who mould their game accordingly. So far, we have seen that Prithvi only plays one way. He plays his shots,” the former Pakistan opener stated.

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