By Should Virat Kohli open for India in the T20 World Cup? It has been one of the major topics of discussion in the build-up to the T20 World Cup, with few favouring the move following his sensational run in IPL 2024, while others have backed a left-right combination for the top, thus wanting Kohli to retain his usual No. 3 position in the Indian line-up. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Sunday dropped a “terrific” verdict on the debate, weeks after the strike rate row in IPL.
Hailing Kohli IPL campaign, where he scored 741 runs in 15 innings to win the Orange Cap, Gavaskar, in conversation with Star Sports, reckoned that the 35-year-old should open for India alongside captain Rohit Sharma, followed by Yashasvi Jaiswal at No.3 and Suryakumar Yadav at 4.
“Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as openers. The way Kohli has batted, particularly the second half of the IPL, he deserves to open the batting with Rohit Sharma, the captain. Seriously, good players are good players. They can bat anywhere, you know whether they’re right and left hand,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar also discarded the left-right theory in the debate for the opening combination, explaining that the team would not want to keep an in-form Kohli waiting in the dugout.
“So no, I don’t think. It’s very good to talk on television about left hand-right hand combination, good players are good players. In Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, you have got 2 terrific and 2 fantastic batters. The kind of form Kohli has shown in the IPL, he has to open the batting.”
As he is in that flow, he is in that rhythm. You don’t want Kohli to wait, even if it is for an over, or even 5 deliveries before he comes out to bat. It is a different feeling when you are walking out with someone to bat. There is a little bit of exchange that they will say let us get going, etc. Walking out alone is different than walking out with a partner,” Gavaskar added.
Gavaskar’s comment comes weeks after his back-and-forth with Kohli over his strike rate in T20 cricket. The India legend was among the few veteran cricketers who had criticised Kohli’s approach in the shortest format, before the former India captain responded not only with a fiery knock, but also an explosive post-match interview. Gavaskar then hit back at Kohli for responding to “outside noise” before the RCB star mocked his critics over strike rate yet again in a post-match interview.
