'Imagine Kohli and Sharma scoring heavily': Graeme Swann wants Virat-Rohit as India's openers
Many senior players like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant etc were rested for the 1st T20I vs England, their return could give the management a headache.
After a five-day-long gruelling Test match in Edgbaston, the BCCI had called for many senior players like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah among others to be rested for the first T20I vs England. They will all be in contention from the second T20I, which would give the Indian management a proper headache.
In the absence of the likes of Kohli and Pant, Team India's young brigade impressed, particularly the likes of Deepak Hooda and Suryakumar Yadav. But with Kohli expected to be slot in at number 3 for the second T20I, either Hooda or SKY, could be dropped.
That would obviously be unfair, given just how good they've been in recent games. Former England spinner Graeme Swann has instead suggested a radical idea.
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Swann has said that Kohli, could open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma, just like he did for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2022.
In fact, with Kohli and Sharma up the order, and SKY and Hooda at number 3 and number four, the Indian batting lineup would be a much more daunting prospect, as per Swann.
"As I see it here, I see it fairly obviously, if Virat Kohli comes in, he opens the batting instead of Kishan. That's what I would do, but I have got nothing to do with the Indian selections," said Graeme Swann in his interaction with Sony Sports.
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He continued, "When you have got a player as good as Virat, you don't want him batting at No. 3 in the middle overs because he is not going to score as quickly as SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) or Hooda when they first come in, that's not his game."
"If Rohit is batting so well at the other end and scoring quickly, Virat will follow and do the same thing. Imagine Kohli and Sharma scoring heavily at the top, then Hooda and SKY coming in," added the veteran further.
While it remains to be seen who plays and who gets benched for the second T20I on Saturday, fans will undoubtedly be waiting for the team news for the series decider versus England.