IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma Outlines India's Decision To Open With Suryakumar Yadav In The WI T20I Series Amid Criticisms

Rohit Sharma gave a direct explanation of the logic behind the ongoing experimentation, even though the choice to start with Suryakumar Yadav has drawn harsh criticism from experts.

In the T20I format, India has used up to seven openers, including captain Rohit, with Ishan Kishan being the most popular choice.

The youngster has made 13 appearances as India’s opener, scoring 419 runs and hitting three fifties. Suryakumar Yadav was the most recent opening possibility, but despite Ishan’s respectable performance to demonstrate his value as a backup to Rohit and KL Rahul, India kept playing around with the opening position.

Suryakumar, who has been more of a lock as India’s No. 4 batter in T20Is, has never started for India in a limited-overs match. But in the first two games of the current West Indies series, he entered the field with Rohit at the start of the innings to open for India. In the first game on Monday, he scored 16 off of 24 while in the second, he scored 11 off of 5.

‘We want the guys to be flexible’: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma added that he wants batsmen to be versatile in the line-up rather than committing to a specific spot, despite the move drawing criticism from cricket experts.

“We do not want the players to be playing in specific places; we want them to be able to bat anywhere. There are two ways to look at it based on different players, so we want the lads to be adaptable” Rohit Sharma said at the toss on Tuesday.

As India’s Suryakumar Yadav played an incredible knock and reached 50 runs, the idea of starting with him worked. His 76 off 44 balls, which included eight fours and four sixes, helped India to a convincing victory. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer also played solid innings.

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