Dubai: Team India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday confirmed that KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will open in the ICC T20 World Cup and that he will bat at No. 3.
Kohli said it’s difficult to look beyond KL Rahul following the stunning form that the Punjab Kings captain showcased in recently-concluded IPL 2021.
“Things were different before IPL, now it’s difficult to look beyond KL Rahul at the top of the order. Rohit is a no-brainer. World-class player, he’s been solid upfront. I will be batting at 3. That’s the only news I can give to start off,” Kohli said at the toss before the warm-up game against England on Monday.
After the completion of the limited-overs series against England at home earlier this year, Kohli had said he was thinking of opening the batting.
He opened for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first leg of IPL 2021 and retained his spot at the top for RCB in the UAE as well.
Rahul, on the other hand, had another fruitful season with the bat in IPL 2021, hitting 626 runs in just 13 matches, nine runs short of Orange Cap winner Ruturaj Gaikwad.