Indian skipper Virat Kohli, at a press conference in New Zealand, has confirmed that KL Rahul will open with Rohit Sharma as opener for India in T20Is. Kohli also confirmed that Rahul will continue to keep the wickets as Pant has been dropped from the Test, ODI and T20I squad. This information was confirmed by Chetan Narula and Johns Benny on Twitter.
Kohli also added that KL Rahul will keep in the ODIs as well, but, he will not open in the 50-over format as the “Rajkot Solution” seemed good enough. This means that Rahul will be keeping for the first time for India in T20Is.
He also hinted that Manish Pandey could feature in India’s starting XI for T20Is ahead of Rishabh Pant.
Prithvi Shaw, on the other hand, could be lined up for his much-awaited ODI debut and slotted in as an opener along with Rohit Sharma.
On the short gap between home and away series, Kohli said, “Getting to a point where we might have to land, head to the stadium and play straight away (laughs). This seems a one off and probably will be better planning going ahead.”
The ‘Men in Blue’ will play five T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests in the island nation. The first match, a T20I, will take place on Friday, January 24 at Eden Park, Auckland.
Earlier, Virat Kohli had praised New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson, on how well he has done for his team and as a leader. He said, “I don’t think leadership can always be determined by the results. It’s also about how you can get the team together and get the guys functioning under you as well, which I think Kane has done wonderfully well.”
He added, “He has the respect of his team-mates and he has the trust of his team-mates, is what I can see, and he’s also a very, very smart cricketer. If a team outplays you, you have to accept it as a collective failure, and not a lack of leadership or captaincy, is what I think.”