Mumbai: The Indian T20 World Cup team was announced on Tuesday, with the biggest surprise being the exclusion of Rinku Singh. Both he and Shubman Gill were included in a backup group of four players, while Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Virat Kohli were chosen as the main top-order batsmen.
In the weeks leading up to the announcement, there was a lot of debate about who India’s opening batsmen would be at the tournament.
Now that the squad is finalized, former player Ajay Jadeja has offered an unconventional solution to this dilemma. Jadeja suggests that Kohli should open the innings with Jaiswal, not with Rohit.
The team India captain should bat at number 3. Rohit has been India’s primary white-ball opener since 2013 and also opens for his IPL team, Mumbai Indians. Jadeja believes that moving down one position would allow Rohit to assess the match situation more effectively.
“In my opinion, Virat Kohli should be the opener. Who should move down? Rohit Sharma should bat at number three. This gives him some breathing room to understand the game’s flow,” Jadeja explained in an interview with Jio Cinema.
Jadeja further argued that Kohli brings guaranteed consistency to the batting order, and the powerplay overs would give him time to settle in and contribute runs.
“When you have Virat in your team, you’re assured of consistency. So, you might as well utilize him to his full potential. He’s at his best at the top of the order, and the powerplay allows him to get comfortable,” he added.
Jadeja’s suggestion for Rohit to bat at number 3 is very unusual, as the star batter batted at the number 3 position only once. In that match, KL Rahul and Ishan opened the innings. The team India collapsed, gathering just 110 runs, losing 7 wickets. That match India lost.
Many veterans, including Sourav Ganguly, believe Kohli should open. Virat is the orange cap holder in the ongoing IPL tournament. He was the first player to breach the 500-run mark. Rohit has scored 315 runs in the tournament, playing 10 games for his team Mumbai Indians.
