Virat Kohli: Ajinkya Rahane will partner Shikhar Dhawan at the top

India kick off the post-Anil Kumble era with the first of five ODIs against West Indies today, and addressing the media on the eve of the game, Kohli cleared the air over a few things about the squad.

First and foremost, Kohli said that his team is looking forward to taking on the West Indies despite all the unrest surrounding the resignation of Anil Kumble. “It is a lovely atmosphere to be a part of after a high profile tournament like the ICC Champions Trophy. It is great to be in a relaxing place and the boys are relaxed and looking forward to play against the West Indies. Always a joy to play here because of the way the culture is and you always want to come here and enjoy playing cricket,” Kohli said, as reported by Cricketnext.

Further, the exclusion of Rohit Sharma for the tour did raise a few eyebrows given that the Mumbai batsman had a splendid run in the Champions Trophy, amassing 304 runs from 5 innings on his way to being the second highest run-scorer.

In the absence of Sharma, Kohli revealed India’s opening partnership for the series saying, “Ajinkya Rahane will partner Shikhar Dhawan at the top. He was our backup opener for the Champions Trophy. He has done well in the past both as an opener and in the middle order but we believe he has more power as an opener and suits his game the best.”