Saba Karim explains why Virat Kohli may open innings for India in T20 World Cup

Kohli, who opened for India along with Rohit in the T20 series against England, has previously indicated a desire to take the role in the shortest format for the team.

India have no dearth of options of players who can open the innings for the team at the upcoming T20 World Cup, despite Shikhar Dhawan not being added to the 15-man squad. Apart from KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, the team also have Ishan Kishan in the mix, who can take over the role. But former India cricketer Saba Karim believes skipper Virat Kohli may open for the team in the World Cup.

India captain Virat Kohli. (Getty)

Kohli, who opened for India along with Rohit in the T20 series against England in March this year, has previously indicated a desire to take the role in the shortest format for the team. The right-handed batsman has been doing the opener's role for Royal Challengers Bangalore for the past several years, and he has enjoyed a good strike rate at the top in the tournament so far in the UAE.

“There now seems to be a strong chance of Virat Kohli opening the innings for India in the T20 World Cup because he is taking a liking to that position. He is batting with a good strike rate. He has a concept of which shots to play and the kind of risks he has to take, so it's all about applying that,” Saba Karim said on Khelneeti - A Hindi Cricket Podcast.

Kohli has scored two fifties in the IPL 2021 since the resumption of the tournament and Karim said that fans will hope the India captain to convert fifties into hundreds.

“Now everyone will just be waiting to see when he (Kohli) can convert these starts into big scores. If you're an opener and your strike rate is good at the start, you're expected to go on and convert that start into a big score,” he said.

This will be Kohli's final stint as T20 captain. Earlier this month, he had announced that he will step down from the role following the culmination of the T20 World Cup.