Virat Kohli will start the innings with skipper Rohit Sharma and will create openings for power-hitting finishers like Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube in the Indian XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup, former bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan said on Friday. However, Pathan, hero of India's victorious 2007 T20 World Cup campaign, added that the move, if implemented, will limit the option to just five specialist bowlers. “Indian openers should be Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, purely because of the right-left combination. Don't forget, Jaiswal's international strike rate is 160 and you need that, you need that firepower,” Pathan said on Star Sports. Press room show, ticket for the World Cup.
However, opening with former captain Kohli, who will take some time to get into the groove, will also have its advantages.
“If Virat opens the batting, what happens is that the combination of 11 can work in a certain way, whatever you want. If that happens, you might see Shivam Dubey playing, if he is in the squad.”
“You might see guys like Rinku Singh in the playing 11 too. But if Virat bats at number three, that might not happen. So that's a big challenge,” Pathan reasoned.
Pathan also believes that Jaiswal's underrated legbreaks should be used if he makes the final XI as none are in the top six bowls.
“Jaiswal has bowled regularly in the nets. So what you can do is you can actually play with five proper bowlers and maybe have him as the sixth bowler as an option to retain that.
“Otherwise, if you look at the batting order, no one is bowling. No one is bowling in the top six and that is the biggest challenge we face as Indian cricket. And we have to keep that in mind as well. So for me, Jaiswal, Rohit and then hit Virat at number three.” Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden also wants Kohli to bat as much as possible in the powerplay.
“As per the panel consensus, I have Virat there. I need him on the power play. If I'm going to pick him, he has to play on the power play.
“He should play the majority of those six overs as an opener because in my opinion Yashasvi deserves to be there. It will be a combination of left and right which will be a huge bonus. That's why I say it is. ” a crucial selection, this.” Hayden never thought Kohli's batting position would be so important in the bigger picture.
“Who would have thought that we would be having this conversation about the greatest player (Kohli) in India, maybe one day. So it all comes down to whether we are interested in selecting a side that we think has the right balance has and who will also play.” win this World Cup,” said Hayden.
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