Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal from left to right. (FILE)With less than a week before India’s opening fixture against Ireland in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, there is uncertainty about who will open the batting for the side. Though captain Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the likely combination to open after the stellar season Virat Kohli had in the Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bengaluru there is a school of thought if he should open as well.
Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer too would chip in with his opinion. However, he would recommend Rohit to bat at four and suggest Kohli and Jaiswal should open. “Kohli & Jaiswal should open in the World Cup IMO(In My Opinion). Rohit & SKY should bat 3&4 depending on the start we get. Rohit plays spin well so batting at 4 shouldn’t be a concern,” Jaffer wrote on his X(formerly known as Twitter) account.
Rohit has batted eight times for India in the number four slot and he has a healthy average of 31.33 and a strike rate of 122.88. As per Kohli opening for India averages 57.14 and has a strike rate of 161.29.
Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are the wicketkeepers India decided to take for the showpiece event. While the former has churned out 521 runs at an average of 52.10 striking at 155.52 so far in the IPL for the Rajasthan Royals the latter has scored 446 runs at an average of 40.55 and a strike rate of 155.40 leading Delhi Capitals.
However, given the composition of the Indian side only one of the players can make it to the playing XI, and former Indian player Yuvraj Singh revealed that he would go with Pant over Samson. “I’d probably go for Rishabh,” Yuvraj said speaking to ICC. “Sanju is also in great form, but Rishabh (is a) left-hander,” he would reason
“I believe that Rishabh has massive potential to win games for India, which he has done in the past,” Yuvraj would predict. “Lot more in Test cricket, and he’s (Pant) someone who I feel can be a match-winner on the big stage.”
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