Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been exceptional in their white-ball journey with India but the pairing will have to show its experience as the defending champions begin their Asia Cup 2022 with a high-octane clash against Pakistan on Sunday. With India embracing an attacking approach in the T20s, Rohit will look to lead from the front, while Kohli faces a tough test after enduring a tough phase in the last couple of years. KL Rahul also returns to the mix to join the seasoned pair, forming India's top-3 at the six-nation tournament. He is coming back up after a surgery and Covid-19 related layoff.
While the top three slots look settled, it remains to be seen whether India will present the No. 4 spot to Suryakumar Yadav or Rishabh Pant. Former national selector and wicketkeeper Saba Karim believes Suryakumar's skill-set makes him a multi-dimensional player who can bat anywhere in the order. He feels the Indian team management should use him as a floater.
In 23 T20Is, Suryakumar has smashed 672 runs at an average of 37.33 with five fifties and a recent hundred against England at the Oval.
"Suryakumar Yadav is such a multi-dimensional player, I can keep him as a floater. I can push him up the order, if my two openers bat say till the 7th-8th over, I can push in SKY then. Or in case it is required, I can also push him down the order because he's such a player who can give me the value at whatever number he bats and I'm looking at my 4-5-6 as floaters. I will in fact keep Rishabh Pant very handy. Because if I feel that I need to push in a left-hander at the top of the order, I can do that as well. But as of now my fixed 3 positions at the top would be Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli," he said on SPORTS18's daily sports news show 'SPORTS OVER THE TOP.'
{{/usCountry}}"Suryakumar Yadav is such a multi-dimensional player, I can keep him as a floater. I can push him up the order, if my two openers bat say till the 7th-8th over, I can push in SKY then. Or in case it is required, I can also push him down the order because he's such a player who can give me the value at whatever number he bats and I'm looking at my 4-5-6 as floaters. I will in fact keep Rishabh Pant very handy. Because if I feel that I need to push in a left-hander at the top of the order, I can do that as well. But as of now my fixed 3 positions at the top would be Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli," he said on SPORTS18's daily sports news show 'SPORTS OVER THE TOP.'
{{/usCountry}}Kohli returns to international cricket after a break of seven weeks during which India has outplayed the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Karim backed Kohli to rediscover his mojo and predicted the same for Rahul, who missed major chunk of 2022 after the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"My top order is captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. And I'm backing experience to do well against a big team like Pakistan and also in an important tournament like Asia Cup. I can understand that Virat Kohli has struggled with form. KL Rahul, would love to see him get more runs but I still feel that both Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, if they undergo 2-3 good practice sessions, I'm sure they'll get back to form at the right time for India," he added.