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regular-article-logo Friday, 26 April 2024

Indian Premier League: Nothing cast in stone for deputy Rohit Sharma

Captain Kohli said he would be testing himself as an opener with the intension of partnering the vice-captain at the top of the order

Our Bureau & Agencies Calcutta, Ahmedabad Published 22.03.21, 12:03 AM
Rohit Sharma.

Rohit Sharma. File picture

Virat Kohli has spelt out his plans but Rohit Sharma is not ready to look too far ahead.

Captain Kohli, after India’s series-clinching win over England on Saturday, said that he would be testing himself as an opener in the upcoming IPL with the intension of partnering vice-captain Rohit at the top of the order in T20Is for India as well in the future, hinting at the T20 World Cup.

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But though the pair was a hit in Saturday’s game, Rohit thinks it is still early to decide anything.

“There’s still a long time to go for the (T20) World Cup, so early days to talk about how our batting (order) will look like. We have to sit and analyse what suits the team the most,” Rohit said at the post-match media interaction.

“For Saturday’s match, it was a tactical move because we wanted to play an extra bowler and wanted to leave one batsman out. Unfortunately, it was KL (Rahul) which was very tough.”

Rohit, in fact, batted for out-of-form Rahul, who is seen as a natural opener. Even Kohli had said before the series that Rohit and Rahul were India’s first-choice openers in T20Is.

“KL has been one our key players in limited overs, especially in this format. The team management decided to go with the best 11. Having said that, it doesn’t send any signal that KL will not be considered or anything like that. This was just for one particular game. Things might change as we go closer to the World Cup.”

“We do understand his (Rahul’s) ability and his contribution at the top, what he’s done for us. So, yeah, I’m not going to rule out anything, neither will I say that this is the preferred batting line-up for the World Cup.

“There is still a good amount of time left with the IPL in between. And then, I’m hearing, there will be a few T20Is played before the World Cup as well. So, you know, there’s good enough time for us to judge what will be the best possible 11 for us,” added Rohit.

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