Pune: India skipper Virat Kohli said Monday he decided to open in the shortest format to accommodate players like Suryakumar Yadav. However, Virat Kohli also pointed out that there is no ‘guarantee’ of him taking up the role in the T20 World Cup at home later this year. The Indian skipper also said that in the ODI series against England, it will be Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan who will open the innings. Kohli pointed out that since 2013, the two have been a very successful combination.
Ahead of the first ODI against England, Kohli explained his surprising call in the fifth T20. He also talked about why he will open in the IPL, a move that attracted a lot of attention.
“First, the combination that plays on the field, selectors don’t have any role to play in that. It is similar to the team management not having a role in selection,” said Kohli.
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“Secondly, as Rohit mentioned, it was a strategic move. Yes we did enjoy batting with each other, we did enjoy that partnership and we saw the effects of us batting together. It’s not a guarantee that this is going to be continued in future,” Kohli added.
Suryakumar had Kohli ‘stunned’ with his knock in his debut game. So the India skipper moved up a spot in the batting order to keep the Mumbai batsman in the XI. India had replaced opener KL Rahul for an extra bowling option in T Natarajan.
“I have batted at No. 4, No. 3. Now I want to go back into, you know, understanding my role as an opener as well which I’ve done successfully in the past in T20 cricket. I may do that to provide an option to open up a slot for someone like Surya. The way he’s playing I should be ready to play any kind of role that team require. We will have a conversation about this closer to the World Cup when we get there,” Kohli clarified.
Dhawan has lost his place in the T20 eleven but Kohli made it clear that he will open with Rohit in the first ODI, Tuesday.
“As far as the opening competition in ODIs is concerned, Shikhar and Rohit will definitely start. When it comes to one-day cricket, I don’t think there’s any issue or doubts over Rohit and Shikhar opening together. And they’ve been amazing for us in the past few years,” Kohli stated.