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Former Aussie player and commentator Matthew Hayden has made a statement on India’s Batting order in T20 World Cup 2024, As India prepare for its first match against Ireland on Wednesday. In a discussion with ESPNcricinfo, Hayden shares his opinion, that Virat Kohli should open the innings for India, and Rohit Sharma would be more effective batting at number four to control the middle order in T20. The former Aussie player asserted the importance of having a left-right combination at the top of the order to successfully counter the leg-spinners of the opposition. If it is In my team, Kohli must start at the top or he won’t play. Being a flexible player, Rohit Sharma doesn’t hesitate to bat in the middle order. He can lead the batting order from the early middle and has a solid record of batting at No. 4 in Twenty20 International Cricket.
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Kohli’s record as T20 opener
Discussion is ongoing about India’s starting lineup, with captain Rohit predicted to start at one of the two spots. Kohli, batted at No. 3 for the majority of his T20I career, an incredibly successful IPL campaign in which he topped the run charts with 741 runs at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.6, including 21 sixes and 36 fours at this IPL. The strike rate is a notable improvement over prior seasons and it is the main focal point. In the first six overs of the 2023 edition, he struck with a strike rate of 136.81 over 14 innings (301 runs). He also demonstrated an improved ability to access the boundary against spin in the middle overs, an area of concern in previous seasons. As an opener, Kohli has been experimenting with new shots and implementing successful strategies. He managed to make effective use of slog-sweeps, trying his power shots, cover drives and cuts to his repertoire and he becomes quite effective.
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Sunil Gavaskar on India’s batting line-up
Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar has now picked Kohli to open for India alongside Rohit Sharma, citing his recent form in IPL. Notably, He suggests that left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t been in good enough form of late to merit a place at the top of the order for the Indian team. ‘Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as Indian openers. Kohli has batted better way in last IPL, and he deserves to open the batting with Rohit Sharma. It’s very good to talk on television about left hand-right hand combination, good players are always good players. In both of them, you have got 2 terrific and 2 fantastic batters. The kind of form Kohli has shown for Royal challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, he has to open the batting” Gavaskar said.
Rohit Sharma Drops Major Opening Combination Hint
The major talking point was who would partner Rohit Sharma as opener at the T20 World Cup action starts for the men in blue on June 5 against Ireland. T20 World Cup warm-up match against Bangladesh gave a lot of hints about India’s playing XI going forward, Virat Kohli did not play the match. There were two choices for India, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli. However, Rohit did not answer the question directly but did talk about the line-up after the winning friendly match against Bangladesh. ‘Quite happy with how things went. Pretty much got what the team wanted from the game. it was important to get used to the new conditions. New venue, ground, drop-in pitch – important to get used to it and we handled it very well” Rohit said.
