Don’t be surprised if you see Virat Kohli walk out to open the batting with Rohit Sharma in the T20 World Cup in June in the USA and West Indies. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is reportedly keen on having Kohli as Rohit’s opening partner for the world event. According to a report in Dainik Jagran, the possibility of having Kohli as an opener was discussed seriously in a meeting held in Mumbai last week where captain Rohit, head coach Rahul Dravid and chief sector Ajit Agarkar were present.
There has been a lot of speculation about Kohli’s spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad which is slated to be announced in a fortnight but all the doubts have reportedly been put to rest. Kohli’s place in the T20 side was not certain when Rohit, Dravid and the selectors met after the ODI World Cup last year. But a lot has changed in the last few months.
Kohli made himself available for the Afghanistan home series. He and Rohit returned to the T20I for the first time in nearly two years. He batted at his preferred No.3 slot in the two matches that he played with Yashasvi Jaiswal opening the batting with Rohit. But in the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup, that might change.
The Jagran report adds that Kohli wanted clarity from the selection committee about his place in the T20 World Cup and they came up with the opening gambit.
Kohli has been opening regularly for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the last few seasons of IPL. He is currently the Orange Cap holder with 361 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 147. He has already notched up a century.
