Suresh Raina's big take on Team India's opening dilemma

Talks of Virat Kohli opening along with skipper Rohit Sharma in T20Is once again resurfaced after the two Team India stalwarts were named in the squad for the series against Afghanistan. Kohli had opened the innings along with Rohit in 2021 during a game against England. Team India head coach Rahul Dravid recently talked about the prospects of Kohli and Rohit opening the innings. Dravid did not rule out the chances of the duo opening in the ongoing Afghanistan series or the T20 World Cup later this year in June. However, former India cricketer Suresh Raina did not seem much impressed with the idea of Rohit and Kohli opening the innings. Raina stated that he prefers Kohli to bat at number three. “I prefer Kohli to bat at No.3 because if Yashasvi plays, he will open with Rohit because of that left-right combination. We have seen in the past when Gambhir and Sehwag used to play or when Sachin and Dada (Sourav Ganguly) used to play. And it is not just because of the combination, they are both attacking batters,” he told Hindustan Times. “With Kohli at No.3, India’s line-up looks more solid. He runs between the wickets, and keeps that scoreboard ticking. I feel his ideal position is No. 3. But if the management feels he should open, then Yashasvi can bat at No. 3. But I feel Yashasvi should open because he is young, shows that intent as well so India can get that good early start,” the 37-year-old added. Skipper Rohit and Shubman Gill opened the innings for India in the T20I series opener against Afghanistan. However, the duo of Rohit and Gill could not do much as the Team India skipper had to depart for a duck on the second delivery of the innings. A mix-up between the two batters resulted in Rohit’s run out. The early fall of the wicket did not have much bearing on India’s performance as the hosts succeeded in registering a six-wicket win against Afghanistan in Mohali on Thursday. Chasing a total of 159, the hosts scored the winning runs with 15 balls to spare. The second fixture of the series is scheduled to be played in Indore on Sunday, January 14.