ICC T20 World Cup 2022: India Captain Rohit Sharma Breaks The Silence On Virat Kohli Opening; Says "Definitely An Option For Us"

As India gets ready to host Australia in a three-match T20I series, it will be interesting to see if Rohit Sharma and Co will employ the same level of experimentation as they did in the recently concluded Asia Cup. The Men in Blue will face the team from Down Under in Mohali on September 20 for the series opener, before playing them in Nagpur on September 23 and finishing the series off in Hyderabad on September 25

Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel have recovered from their injuries, which will add more impetus to the squad. Ahead of the series against Australia, skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday addressed a press conference where he spoke about what to expect and whether Virat Kohli can be looked at as an opener in the shortest format.

Rohit Sharma emphasises having flexibility in the squad for the T20 World Cup

Speaking during a press conference, Rohit Sharma said, “It is always nice to have options available for you. It is important going into a World Cup that you have flexibility. You want the players to be in best shape batting at any position. When we try and do something new, that does not mean that’s a problem.”

“For us, we understand the quality of all our players and what they bring for us. But yeah, it is an option (Virat Kohli opening) for us, we will always keep that in mind. Since we have not taken a third opener, he opens for his franchise in the IPL and he has done really well, so it is a definite option for us,” he said further while talking about whether Kohli can be looked at as an opener,” he added.

Rohit Sharma touts Virat Kohli as the third opener

Further talking about Virat opening the batting, Rohit said, “Virat Kohli is our third opener and he will open in some of the games. In the last match of Asia Cup, we were happy with the way he played. But KL Rahul will open the batting in the World Cup, his performance sometimes goes quite unnoticed.”

The 35-year-old skipper concluded by saying, “He is a very important player for Team India. For us, I just want to make it clear, we are clear in our thought process. We do not have any confusion, we are very clear what KL Rahul brings to the table for us, he is a quality player and is very important for us. His presence at the top is very crucial for us.”

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