Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said it would be ideal for India to persist with the opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20 Internationals.
Speaking after the 5th T20 match which India won by 36 runs, Gavaskar said, this gives India a lot more options in terms of team combination.
With KL Rahul in poor form, skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma opened the innings for India in the 5th T20 for the first time on Saturday. The duo added 94 runs as India beat England by 36 runs to win the series 3-2.
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"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. 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 said.
"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 has to bat as many overs as they can," Gavaskar further added according to a report in Times of India.
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The partnership was broken in the ninth over when Rohit fell to Ben Stokes for well-complied 64. Kohli went on to score unbeaten 80 off 52 balls as India scored a mammoth 224/2. Suryakumar Yadav (32 off 17 balls) and Hardik Pandya (39 off 17 balls) cameos around Kohli.
"I would persist with this opening formula. Look at the way they fed off each other. You could see the interaction between the two of them, whenever each of them got the big shot going," said Gavaskar.
"When that happens, when two leaders of the team show the way, it becomes easier for the guys coming down the order. With Suryakumar Yadav, in India colours and playing those cameos, it's really good," Gavaskar added.
