Virender Sehwag picks India's openers, No.3 for T20 World Cup, no place for Virat Kohli

Former India opener Virender Sehwag picked India's top-order for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia later tgis year. There was no place for former India captain and India's designated No.3 Virat Kohli as Sehwag went with recent form.

After a disappointing show in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup, which saw India fail to reach the knockout stage, the Men In Blue will aim for an improved effort this time around. Not only India failed to reach the semis, but the Virat Kohli-led Indian unit also endured their first defeat against Pakistan in the showpiece event.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag(Getty Images)

However, things have changed massively in the Indian camp. The captaincy has been handed to star opener Rohit Sharma, while Ravi Shastri has passed the coaching baton to Rahul Dravid. And now with the T20 World Cup approaching fast, many ex-cricketers have started weighing their opinions on the combination the team should go with in Australia.

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Sharing his views on the same, ex-India opener Virender Sehwag selected Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and KL Rahul as the hot picks for the top-order slot.

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"India has options aplenty when it comes to hard hitters in T20s. However, I would personally vouch for Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and KL Rahul as the top three batters for the World Cup in Australia," the former India opener told PTI.

Notably, former captain Virat Kohli is the one who bats at No3 for India in ODIs and T20Is but he has been going through a rough patch of late.

"The right-hand and left-hand combination of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, or for that matter, Ishan and KL Rahul could be quite interesting for the World T20," he added.

Meanwhile, the ex-cricketer also hailed young pacer Umran Malik and feels he should definitely be on the flight to Melbourne.

"If there is one pacer who has thoroughly impressed me, of late, it is none other than Umran Malik. He should definitely be part of India’s plans as one of the key bowlers alongside the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami," said Sehwag.

"This IPL has given us many promising young bowlers, but Umran’s skills and talent will definitely earn him a place in the Indian across all three formats in the long run," he remarked.

Australia, who are the defending champions, will host the event and it will get be played in the months of October-November.