Virat Kohli an option as third opener in T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma

New Delhi: India’s men’s cricket team captain Rohit Sharma addressed the media before the three-match T20I series against Australia. During the press conference, he made it clear that the management is seeing Virat Kohli as the third opener for the upcoming T20 World Cup, in case Rohit or KL Rahul gets injured.

Talking about the opening, Rohit Sharma said that it is nice to have options and flexibility while going to a tournament. He made it clear that the team is not travelling with a third opener and Virat Kohli is an option for the team as he has opened for India in past and also opens for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. He added, “I had a word with Rahul Dravid and we have decided that we might have to open with Virat in few matches. We have seen that in the last match and we are happy.”

However, he also made it clear that Virat is just an option and KL Rahul will be opening the batting with him. Talking about Rahul, he said, “His performance for India has always gone unnoticed. One or two bad game doesn’t overshadow his past records. We know what KL brings to the table, his presence at top is very crucial for us.”

Recently, Virat Kohli made his much-awaited 71st century while opening the batting along with KL Rahul. He scored 122* off just 61 against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022. He has opened for India in nine T20I games so far and has scored 400 runs at an average of 57.14 and a strike rate of about 155.

India will play a three-match T20I series against Australia starting from September 20 in Mohali. The second game will be played in Nagpur on September 23, followed by the last game in Hyderabad on September 25.