Virat Kohli starting the innings with skipper Rohit Sharma will create openings for power-hitting finishers like Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube in the Indian playing XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup, former seam-bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan said on Friday.
Pathan, hero of India's victorious 2007 T20 World Cup campaign, though added that the move, if implemented, will limit the option to just five specialist bowlers.
"Indian openers should be Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, purely because of the right-hand and left-hand combination. Don't forget Jaiswal's international strike rate is 160 and you need that, you need that firepower," Pathan said on Star Sports Press Room Show, Ticket to World Cup.
However, opening with former captain Kohli, who takes a bit of time to get into the groove, will also have its advantages.
"If Virat opens up the batting, what happens is that it will allow the combination of 11 to be in a certain way, which you want. If that happens, you might see Shivam Dubey playing, if he's there in the squad.
"You might see guys like Rinku Singh in the playing 11 as well. But if Virat bats at number three, that might not happen. So that's a big challenge," Pathan reasoned.
Pathan also feels that Jaiswal's under-rated leg-breaks should be put to use if he makes the final XI, as none in the top six bowls.
"Jaiswal has actually been bowling regularly in the nets. So what you can do is you can actually play proper five bowlers and maybe have him as a sixth bowler, as an option to keep it.
"Otherwise, if you look at the batting order, no one bowls. No one bowls in top six and that's the biggest challenge what we have as Indian cricket. And that's what we need to consider that as well. So for me, Jaiswal, Rohit and then Virat bats at number three." Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden also wants Kohli to bat as much as possible in the powerplay.
"By popular consensus of the panel, I've got Virat there. I've got to have him in the powerplay. If I'm going to pick him, he has to play in the powerplay.
"He has to play the majority of those six overs as an opener, because Yashasvi does deserve to be there in my opinion, and it will be a left and right hand combination which will be a huge bonus, and that's why I say it's such a pivotal selection, this." Hayden never thought Kohli's batting position will be this important in the larger scheme of things.
"Who would have even thought that we would be having this conversation about the greatest player (Kohli) in India, maybe ever. So it all comes down to are we interested in selecting a side that we believe is the right balance and is going to win this World Cup," Hayden said.
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