The Indian cricket team continues to experiment with its top-order, especially the opening combination in T20Is with Suryakumar Yadav latest to be tried as an opener. On Friday, in the series opening first T20I against West Indies, captain Rohit Sharma opened with Suryakumar who had recently scored a sparkling century on England tour but when batting in the middle-order (no 4 to be precise).
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Before Surya, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad have also been tried as openers. So what is the reason behind such frequent experiments?
One could be that the absence of KL Rahul has left a vacant spot and the Indian team management wants to give a fair chance to every claimant before the senior batter returns to take his spot with T20 World Cup fast approaching.
However, former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel has a different theory.
Patel feels that India are trying to fit in batting superstar Virat Kohli into the playing XI and hence the changes.
“I would have liked to see him (Kohli) play the one-day series. It is an easier option of coming back to form. There are fifty overs, there’s a lot of time. Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill came back to run-scoring with almost a-run-a-ball," Patel said on Cricbuzz.
He continued, “He is a legend of the game. And all these changes we are seeing in the opening order, that’s happening because they want to try and fit in Virat Kohli in that XI. That’s the reason we are seeing Surya and Rishabh Pant opening. That’s something I feel."
Kohli isn’t part of the Windies tour having been rested alongside other senior players including Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Their are unconfirmed reports that the Indian selectors are mulling over sending Kohli for the Zimbabwe tour next month in a bid to help him get back to his old self.
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