“Suryakumar Yadav’s dependability at No. 4 can allow Virat Kohli to open the innings,” says Zaheer Khan

“Suryakumar Yadav’s dependability at No. 4 can allow Virat Kohli to open the innings,” says Zaheer Khan

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

In the 5th T20I against England, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma opened the innings and came up with a scintillating stand that led to India registering a total of 224 on the board. The Englishmen then fell short by 36 runs leading to India clinching the series as the final match was the decider.

Both Kohli and Rohit got half-centuries while Suryakumar Yadav also came up with a quick-fire innings that upped the ante and continued the momentum of the innings even after Rohit’s dimissal.

Zaheer Khan on the possibility of Virat Kohli being made the permanent opener

Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan spoke about India’s batting order on Cricbuzz. “The question one should ask is how it became possible that Virat Kohli could come and open the innings? It became possible because India got a batsman like Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar went there and showed what he can do at no. 3 position,” said Zaheer Khan.

“This thinking, I believed started from there, and then the result was that Virat Kohli said that ‘I can’t keep going down the batting order’. Shreyas Iyer has also been pushed down the batting order. So, he decided that opening the innings could be a better option, let’s try it out,” he added.

Kohli has already expressed his desire to continue opening with Rohit in the shortest format of the game and has also confirmed he will be opening for his side Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

Also Read: India vs England: Zaheer Khan names the ‘silent hero’ of the T20I series