Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli
Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Monday reiterated his intention of opening in the impending 14th season of the Indian Premier League and understand the role in a bid to open a slot for a player like Suryakumar Yadav in the T20I batting lineup.
Kohli opened for the eighth time in T20Is and first since 2018 in the fifth and final T20I match against England on Saturday and scored an unbeaten 80, his highest from that position, surpassing his previous best of 70* scored in 2012 in Chennai.
The "strategic move" as mentioned by Rohit Sharma in the post-match presser, allowed India to fit in Suryakumar at No.3 who scored a quickfire 32 off 17 and allowed Hardik Pandya to play his natural game as well. India, batting first in that game, scored 224 for two, their highest T20I total against England, and successfully defended the total.
"As Rohit mentioned, it was a strategic move but we enjoyed batting together and we saw the effects of batting together. It's not a guarantee that this is going to continue in the future. I am going to open in the IPL to keep all options. Now I want to understand my role as an opener as well so that I can open up a slot for someone like Surya. I should be able to play any kind of role that the team requires me to. We'll take a call closer to the World Cup," Kohli said in the virtual press conference ahead of the start of the three-match ODI series against England in Pune.
The ODI contest will begin from March 23 onwards and all the matches will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
