Sanjay Bangar, Virat Kohli, Ajikya Rahane
Sanjay Bangar (Credits - Twitter)

Former India batsman, Sanjay Bangar has opined that Mayank Agarwal should continue to open in the T20Is for India, similar to the ODIs, at least until Rohit Sharma returns to the national team.

Rahul has been batting at five for India in ODIs since the start of the year. He has replaced Rishabh Pant, who is also dropped from the white-ball setup. Agarwal made his ODI debut in New Zealand earlier in the year; he is yet to feature in any T20 international.

Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul
Mayank Agarwal [Photo-Twitter]
All the three batsmen were in tremendous form in the IPL. Rahul averaged 55, Dhawan 44, and Agarwal 38 in the IPL 2020. In fact, Agarwal played at a better strike than the other two openers.

Agarwal opened with Shikhar Dhawan in the three-match ODI series against Australia, and KL Rahul, who is doing the wicket-keeper role batted at number 5. However, he was dropped from the first T20I on Friday, as KL Rahul shifted back to the opening position. Dhawan was retained at the top, after missing on all five T20Is in New Zealand.

KL Rahul can bat at number 5: Sanjay Bangar

Shikhar Dhawan.
Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul. Credits: BCCI Twitter

Sanjay Bangar expressed his views on the opening combination in the T20I team. He picks Mayank Agarwal to open with Shikhar Dhawan until Rohit Sharma is injured. Rohit suffered a hamstring injury in the IPL and was ruled out from the limited-overs leg of the Australia tour.

Speaking to Star Sports, Sanjay Bangar said, “It’s going to be a toss-up right because Rohit Sharma, unfortunately, isn’t available for the team, so I believe they will have to go with Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan. Shikhar Dhawan is going to be a consistent factor, but whether they opt to go with KL Rahul, who has again been in fabulous touch, is something that needs to be seen.”

Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul
Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul [Photo-Twitter]
Bangar, who has worked with all three batsmen during his stint as the batting coach for team India believes that KL Rahul has been brilliant at number 5 for the Indian team this year. Hence the 48-year-old reckons that Agarwal may open with Dhawan and the  Rahul is adept in batting at number five.

“KL Rahul has done great service to the Indian team in the recent past when he’s batted at No. 5, but I believe that Mayank Agarwal may just open with Shikhar Dhawan,” Sanjay Bangar added.

With the help of Ravindra Jadeja’s 44* off 23 balls, and his concussion substitute, Yuzvendra Chahal’s 3-wicket haul, India defeated the hosts by 11 runs in the first T20I. The second match is scheduled for Sunday in Sydney.

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