Ahmedabad: India had a new opening combination for the fifth T20I against England in Ahmedabad and it seems like everyone is loving it. Virat Kohli coming in as opener turned out to be a match-winning decision. Kohli promoted himself to open the innings with Rohit Sharma and the duo added 94 runs in just nine overs.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar said he believes that Kohli should continue to bat at that position after the Indian captain scored a masterful 80 in the series decider against England in Ahmedabad.
“Your best batsman should bat the most number of overs in limited-overs cricket. So it was very important for Virat Kohli to bat at the top of the order. So maybe, KL Rahul’s loss of form has been a blessing in disguise because this has given us an opening combination to look forward to,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying to India Today.
Gavaskar opined that India needs their best batsman ‘to bat as many overs’ as he can. In this regard, he gave the example of how Sachin Tendulkar changed his and the team’s fortunes by moving to the top of the order in ODIs.
“Like when Sachin Tendulkar was batting down the order in ODIs and then he was sent up to open the batting and what a transformation it had not just on his batting but the whole team. So clearly, your best batsman have to bat as many overs as they can,” Gavaskar added.
After winning both the Test series and T20 contest, India will look to white-wash England. The first ODI of the three-match series will be played on Tuesday (March 23) in Pune.
