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Team India’s star batter Virat Kohli is primed for a place in the T20 World Cup squad; he is currently the highest run-getter in the ongoing IPL and made a comeback to the T20I side earlier this year during the series against Afghanistan. While Kohli’s place in the 15-member squad looks assured, there remains significant speculation over his batting position when India takes on Ireland in their T20 World Cup opener on June 6.
Many, including former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, believe that Kohli should open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma; the 35-year-old also opens with Faf du Plessis at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh says otherwise.
According to the former off-spinner, Yashasvi Jaiswal, the fiery left-arm opener, is best suited to kickstart the Indian innings with the captain. He believes Kohli should bat at 3, and can even drop down to fourth spot if the first wicket falls late in the innings.
“I believe Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma should open for India, and Virat Kohli should come at no.3,” Harbhajan told Star Sports.
“I would like to see a left-right combination at the top. If 6-7 overs are played, and if we have a player like Shivam Dube, he can walk in at no.3. Kohli can then walk in at 4. We have to take the horses-for-courses approach here, and there’s no disrespect in that. Kohli is a great player, whether he plays at no.3 or 4, the team comes first. Even if you ask him this question, he will say the team comes first,” Harbhajan further said.
Kohli, along with Rohit, had been away from T20Is ever since the previous T20 World Cup in 2022. While the duo’s focus was on the fifty-over format last year due to the 2023 World Cup, they made a return to T20Is earlier this year during the three-match series against Afghanistan, which was also India’s last white-ball assignment before the marquee tournament in June.
While RCB have had a poor season, winning only two of their nine matches so far, Kohli’s individual performances have been impressive. With a strike rate of 145.76, Kohli is currently the only player to have scored over 400 runs; he has 430 in nine innings, with a century and three half-centuries.
In RCB’s previous game, however, Kohli struggled significantly after the powerplay against Sunrisers Hyderabad; even as he scored 51, he faced 43 deliveries.
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