India captain Virat Kohli reveals the name of the openers for the 1st T20I against England.
Team India will play against England in the five-match Twenty20 International series in Ahmedabad, starting from tomorrow. However, their opening slot becomes a centre of attraction. While Shikhar Dhawan despite played in that position for a long alongside Rohit Sharma, didn’t receive much success, KL Rahul’ recent success makes him a strong contender too.
However, Virat Kohli has confirmed who will play as an opener for India in the first T20I against England between them. Kohli has said that KL Rahul will open alongside Rohit Sharma in the match. He even ruled out the speculation about all three openers will be playing together as he called Shikhar Dhawan a ‘third opener’.
“It’s quite simple, KL and Rohit have been performing at the top of the order for us and those two would start,” Kohli said in a virtual press conference on the eve of the first T20Is. “And if Rohit takes rest or Kl has a niggle or something Shikki (Shikhar Dhawan) obviously comes back as a third opener. The starting composition, Rohit and Rahul will start.”
“We want to play free cricket”: Virat Kohli
Both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul opened for India in their last T20I series in Australia. They did in the absence of Rohit Sharma who didn’t take part because of an injury. However, his return left the team in a difficult situation to decide between Dhawan and KL Rahul.
Meanwhile, there are a few new faces too like Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tewatia. While speaking about their inclusion, Kohli said: “We have made additions to the squad who can be X-Factors in the batting lineup. We want to see how they fare in the middle.”
He also said that they willplay a free brand of cricket against Eoin Morgan -led England.
“We want to play free cricket, we have explosive batsmen in the team now. That’s exactly what we are trying to address. This time around you will see players bat more freely. I see us being much more free with our approach from this series onwards,” Virat Kohli concluded.
