New Delhi: Team India, which is preparing for the T20 World Cup 2022, will play a three-match T20 series against Australia from September 20. Before the start of this series, captain Rohit Sharma has made a big statement during the press conference. He said that Virat Kohli as an opener is an option for the team. In India’s last match in the Asia Cup, Virat opened the innings and scored 122 not out. It was his maiden century in international T20 cricket and the highest innings by any Indian batsman in T20.
Kohli has previously scored five centuries at the opening of the innings in the IPL. His record as an opener in T20 is superb. After his century against Afghanistan, the debate started that he should regularly open the innings for the country. Although various cricket pundits agreed or disagreed on this, the most important thing is captain Rohit’s statement, which says that Virat is an option as an opener. However, while Virat will open the innings, captain Rohit or vice-captain Rahul will have to bat in the middle order.
What did Rohit say?
Rohit said, “It’s always good to have options available. You have to have resilience to go to the World Cup. You want the players to bat at their best in any situation. When we try to do something. To innovate, it’s not like there’s a team problem.”
Rohit said, “We understand the quality of all our players and what they can offer to the team. But yes, it is an option (Virat Kohli opening) for us, we will always keep it in mind. Because we don’t have a third opener. He has opened for his franchise in the IPL and he has done really well, so he is definitely an option for us.”
Talking about Virat Kohli’s batting front, Rohit said, “Virat Kohli is our third opener and he will open in some matches. We were happy with the way he played in the last match of the Asia Cup, but KL Rahul will open in the World Cup. Its performance is sometimes overlooked. He is a very important player for Team India. I just want to make that clear. Our thinking is clear, we have no illusions, we are very clear. How useful KL Rahul is for us. He is a quality player and very important for us. His presence in the top order is very important for us.”
It was clarified before the start of the series that Mohammad Shami is infected with Corona and Umesh Yadav has been included in his place. Talking about this, Rohit said that what happened to Shami is unfortunate. There were many options to replace him, but some players like the famous Krishna are injured. Siraj is playing county and he doesn’t want Siraj to leave the tournament for a match or two. Avesh was very ill in the Asia Cup and needs some time to recover. All those things were considered. People like Umesh, Shami, who have been bowling for a long time, don’t need to play any format to be in the team.”
Indian team for Australia series
Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Akshar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar. Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav. Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel have recovered from their injuries ahead of the series against Australia, so that is an added bonus for Team India.