Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
'Need to understand my role as opener to open up slot for someone like Suryakumar': Virat Kohli says he will open in IPL
India captain Virat Kohli, after India's win in the 5th T20I against England, had expressed a desire to open in the future as well.
India captain Virat Kohli showcased in the 5th T20I against England the damage he can do in the shortest format if he comes out to open the innings. At first, the Indian skipper played second fiddle to Rohit Sharma, who hammered 64 runs in 34 balls. After settling down in the middle, Kohli took charge and went on to slam an unbeaten 80 runs in 52 balls to help the team's total to 224/8 in 20 overs.
Kohli, after India's win, expressed a desire to open in the future as well. On being asked about the same on Monday, the India captain said that he enjoyed opening with Rohit, but there is still no guarantee if this batting order will be continued in the future in T20Is.
Also read: Vaughan says 'RCB will be lot stronger' with Virat Kohli opening innings
"Firstly, the combination that plays on the field, the selectors do not have any role in that just like the management does not have any role in who gets selected.
"Secondly, as Rohit mentioned it was a strategic move, but we did enjoy batting together in the last T20I. We did enjoy our partnership and we saw the effects of us batting together and knowing what we can do to the opposition if we bat throughout. It is not a guarantee that it is going to be continued in the future," Kohli said during a virtual press conference ahead of 1st ODI against England, as quoted by the news agency ANI.
"I am going to open in the IPL to keep all options open. I have batted at three, four and now I need to understand my role as an opener which I have done successfully in the past in T20 cricket so that I provide an option to open up a slot for someone like Surya, if he can continue to bat like that, I should be open to playing any kind of role that the team requires me to," Kohli further said.
"We will have a conversation about this when we get closer to the T20 World Cup. It would be interesting to see how I go about my job as an opener in the IPL," he added.
After winning the five-match T20I series 3-2, India will play the three-match ODI series against England, with the first match set to take place on Tuesday.
