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Rohit, Rahul will be India's T20I openers going ahead, confirms Kohli

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Last updated on 11 Mar 2021 | 01:23 PM
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Rohit, Rahul will be India's T20I openers going ahead, confirms Kohli

The India captain also made it clear that Ravichandran Ashwin will not be in the white-ball scheme of things till Washington Sundar is performing

India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday said that Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will be the team's opening combination in T20Is going ahead as it geared up for a five-match series against England starting on Friday. Kohli also made it clear that Ravichandran Ashwin will not be in the white-ball scheme of things till Washington Sundar is performing. India will start their preparations for the T20 World Cup, to be held in India later this year, with the series against England and the skipper did give some indications about how the core combination would look like.

"If Rohit plays, then it's simple. KL (Rahul) and Rohit have been performing consistently at the top of the order for us and those two will start," Kohli was unambiguous in his reply that the seasoned Shikhar Dhawan will have to wait.

"In a situation, Rohit takes rest and KL has a niggle or something, Shikhi (Dhawan's nickname in the team) obviously comes in as the third opener but the starting composition, Rohit and Rahul will be the ones who will start."

However, Kohli was a trifle annoyed with a question on India's no.1 Test spinner Ashwin's chances of making a comeback looking at his impressive IPL form last time when he got some big names including the India captain cheaply. "Washington has been doing really well for us. So you cannot have two players of the same discipline, playing in one spot. So (this will not happen) unless Washy has drastically horrible season and things go south for him," Kohli said about the young all-rounder.

Washington has an impressive economy rate of less than 7 per over (6.95) in 26 games for the country. Kohli made it pretty clear that the question didn't amuse him one bit. "I mean the question has to be asked with some kind of logic as well. You suggest where you would add Ash, and play him in the team?" he countered.

"Washington already does that job for the team. It's easy to ask a question but you should have a logical explanation to it yourself."

No space for compromise on fitness: Kohli on Varun Chakravarthy 

Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy's repeated fitness test failures have raised quite a few eyebrows and the Indian captain sent a message loud and clear that anyone aspiring to play for India should abide by certain fitness standards. Chakravarthy, an IPL sensation for Kolkata Knight Riders, was first picked ahead of the Australia tour only to be found out later that he was hiding a shoulder injury back then.

He did his rehabilitation at the NCA but hasn't played any national-level competitive match and again failed the YoYo (17.1) and 2km (8 minutes) fitness test after Chetan Sharma's committee unexpectedly picked him without any game time. "Look individuals need to understand the systems that have been created for the Indian cricket team," Kohli was very clear on where he stood on the issue.

"We should operate at the very high levels of fitness and skills and that's why this (India team) is top of the ladder when playing cricket, in our country.

"We would expect players to abide by what's required to be a part of Team India. There shouldn't be space for any compromise, in that regard."

Expect team to play with "more freedom" going forward

Kohli expects his team to play much more freely in the five-match T20 series against England as the infusion of fresh blood has provided much-needed "x-factor and depth" to the batting unit, which it lacked in the past. The selectors have picked IPL performers like Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Rahul Tewatia for the England series while the in-form Rishabh Pant has made a comeback.

With the IPL yet to be played, Kohli feels another fresh face or two may sneak into the squad ahead of the T20 World Cup at home in October but finds the current side full of balance and options. "We have have played with a certain kind of pattern in the past. We did not have a big tournament to work towards in the past. If you look the squad, the additions we have made we have have tried to address a few things we needed in specific," Kohli said on the eve of the game referring to the likes of Suryakumar and Kishan.

"Guys who can be 'x factors' with the bat and do things which are the need of the hour in T20 cricket. These guys have done so on a regular basis in the IPL so we have tried to cover all those basis. Now it will be interesting to see how they go about in these five games."

Having not had enough options in the past, Kohli is happy with what he has at his disposal now. "These are the only five games we have as a team before the World Cup and we want to see how these guys fare in the middle. I feel the squad right now we have barring Jaddu, who will come back whenever fit, is the most balanced in terms of the options available to take the field as and when required."

The Indian team has been guilty of playing one dimensional cricket with the bat and found tough to accelerate after the fall of early wickets. That should change now, feels Kohli.

"The players have added in the squad is precisely to give our batting more depth and not play in a similar kind of pattern we have played with in the past. We want to be a side that plays free cricket, not having any baggage of lack of depth or one guy having to bat long enough to make sure we get to a big total.

"We have explosive guys in the team who can change the game at any stage and that is exactly what we have tried to address. 

"This time around you will see guys playing more freely, more expressive in terms of approaching the innings even after we have lost couple of wickets which wasn't the case to be honest because we did not have enough depth in the batting to play freely for about 10 to 12 overs but I see much more positivity from this series onwards," said Kohli.

England players including Jos Buttler have labelled hosts India as the favourites to win the T20 World Cup later this year but Kohli thinks the opposite. "I actually think it is England who will be the team to beat. They are the number one side in the world and the prime focus will be on them. All other teams will be wary of their strength, what they bring to the park and would agree with what I say."

The series will also be a comeback for a fit again Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who will be the senior-most pacer in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. "Bhuvi is shaping up really nice. He is a smart operator like we have seen in the past . He has clear understanding what he wants to do and is one of our most experienced T20 bowlers. He is the guy you can bank on, so glad to have him back," Kohli added.

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