T20 World Cup 2021: Kohli might open and KL Rahul could bat at no.4 – Sunil Gavaskar

Indian great Sunil Gavaskar believes skipper Virat Kohli could open the innings with Rohit Sharma in the upcoming T20 World Cup whereas KL Rahul could bat at no.4 for the Indian team.

Kohli had earlier said that he wants to open the innings in the shortest format of the game and he had also opened the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League 2021.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have done a decent job while opening the innings in the limited-overs format. Suryakumar Yadav is expected to bat one down in the batting order and it will be interesting to note Virat Kohli’s batting position.

On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan was expected to be the backup opener of the team as he has all the experience but the veteran batsman was left out despite impressing with his strike rate in the recent past. Chief selector Chetan Sharma revealed that Ishan Kishan will be the third opening option for the team if required.

“We had seen earlier this year, when England had visited India, Kohli had opened the batting. So, there is a chance that Kohli might open and KL Rahul could bat at No. 4 or 5,” the former India captain told Aaj Tak.

“If Suryakumar Yadav settles into the No. 3 spot and does well, I see Rahul coming in at No. 4 to take advantage of the last few overs of the innings. They will be followed by Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant at 5 and 6, according to me. The Indian batting order for the T20 World Cup seems rather strong and adventurous,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Indian selectors have named five spinners and three fast bowlers in the squad of 15 players. Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur have been named as the standby players but Little Master questioned India’s backup fast bowler.

“In the fast bowling department, there are only three pacers. This is a big tournament and if a fourth fast bowler is needed (in case of injury or some other issue), who the replacements will be is something that will need to be pondered upon,” Gavaskar pointed out.