T20 World Cup 2021 | Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul should open for India, Virat Kohli at No.3, says Aakash Chopra
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra is of the opinion that KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma should open for India in the T20 World Cup, and Virat Kohli should bat at No.3. He further added that he would like to see Rahul‘s carefree and fearless approach versus the opposition bowlers in the T20 World Cup.
India will be up against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai, and the Men in Blue will be looking forward to continuing their winning streak against the neighbours in the T20 World Cup 2021. India have a 100 percent win record in the T20I World Cup over Pakistan with five wins in the tournament.
Team India is gearing up for the high-volatge clash and are spoiled for choices in the batting departement. The 15-man squad has go three openers in Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan. Also, Virat Kohli has also opened reglarly for his IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the past.
In fact, in March this year, Indian captain Virat Kohli had opened the innings along with Rohit Sharma during the T20I series against England, and he scored 231 runs from five matches. But, KL Rahul who amassed 626 runs as an opener in IPL 2021 is a strong contender for the opening role.
Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra has stated that KL Rahul should open for India along with Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli should bat at the No.3 position. He further added that he would like to witness the carefree and fearless approach from KL Rahul while facing the bowlers in the T20 World Cup.
“The first thing is the batting order. Who is going to open? Last time when they played, Rohit and Kohli had opened, and both had hit a lot and the talk started to make them open because Rahul was not making runs at that time,” Chopra said in a video uploaded on his Youtube channel ahead of India;s warm-up match against England on Monday.
"But now Rahul is firing. He is not walking; he is running and running better than Rohit and Virat. So, please get Rohit and Rahul to open. Virat Kohli at No.3, I want to see how Surya is batting. I want the carefree and fearless approach from Rahul,” he added.
The former Indian cricketer further added that it is time for Rohit Sharma to unleash his batting skills in white-ball cricket.
“I want the big innings from Rohit because he is only showing the trailer, we haven't seen the picture for a long time in white-ball cricket,” Chopra added.
Virat Kohli confirms India's opening combination
At the toss during India's warm-up match against England, captain Virat Kohli confirmed that Rohit Sharma and in-form KL Rahul would open for India at the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE and Oman. Rahul finished with 626 runs - third-highest, in the recently-concluded IPL 2021. He averaged over 62 and carried a strike-rate of 138.80.
"Things were different before IPL, now it's difficult to look beyond KL Rahul. He's been solid up front. I will be batting at 3. That's the only thing I can say for now," Kohli said.