Former India captain Virat Kohli put all the doubts about his form to rest with a scintillating form in Asia Cup that saw him score a couple of fifties and it culminated with a maiden century in the T20I format for the national side. Kohli, who has flourished as an opener in the shortest format both for India and his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL, seems to enjoy the position as it allows him to play in both gears according to the situation.
In the game against Afghanistan where Kohli opened alongside KL Rahul, in a match that had negligible significance in the recently concluded Asia Cup, timed his innings to perfection and eventually returned a 61-ball 122*. Rahul, who had been struggling for runs in the whole tournament finally scored some runs as well.
After the match, the calls for Kohli opening the batting became louder and louder as not only it will help the batting stalwart play at his best, but it will also allow India’s best batter in T20Is this year, Suryakumar Yadav to be involved in the game early. However, many including former India opener Gautam Gambhir have warned the Men in Blue against the same as it will disrupt the pair of Rohit and Rahul but on the other hand, some advocated the move saying that it could help the balance of the side.
Ahead of the three-match T20I series against Australia, Rohit, however, hasn’t ruled out the prospect of the 33-year-old batting at the top in the T20 World Cup saying that the team wants to be as flexible regarding their options as they can going into a big tournament.
Speaking at press conference in Mohali on Sunday, September 18, Rohit 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.
Rohit said that since team hasn’t taken a third opener this time around, Kohli can fill in the role rather well having done wonderfully but still maintained that Rahul will continue to open (for the time being) as his performances can go unnoticed sometimes.
“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 and he has done really well, so it is a definite option for us but K L Rahul will open for us at the T20 World Cup. KL’s performances often go unnoticed. He is a very important player for us,” Rohit further added.
