'Kohli Should Open, Rinku Has to Play': India Selectors Advised to Change Batting Order for T20 WC as Pandya And Gill Snubbed

Virat Kohli (left) and Rinku Singh (Agencies)

The Indian selectors will have a tough time in picking squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 considering the wealth of options at their disposal. Besides established stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav among others, there are a bunch of young stars who have in the past one year proved their credentials and shown they belong to the international level.

Among those is Rinku Singh who continues to show his incredible finishing skills and has been backed to make the squad for the T20 showpiece set to be co-hosted by the USA and West Indies cricket boards.

Former New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull feels that India should find a way to get Rinku in their playing XI and for that he wants Kohli to be promoted as the opener from the no. 3 spot where he usually bats.

“I think Virat should open…100 per cent. I don’t think he should bat at number three, because if he does, then Rinku Singh will miss out. And in my India starting XI, Rinku has to play. Therefore, Virat’s got to open the batting,” Doull said on Cricbuzz.

Doull also gave options on who should then partner Kohli at the top. In India’s last T20I series (against Afghanistan), it was Yashasvi Jaiswal who combined to open with Rohit while Kohli batted at no. 3.

“Now who he (Kohli) opens with, up to you. If it is Rohit Sharma or Jaiswal. But Kohli has to open, because in the modern game that is his best position. He hits the quick bowlers as good as anyone and he times the ball beautifully. Coming in and starting against spin is not his best option,” Doull explained.

Interestingly, Doull, while suggesting India’s batting order, skipped past Shubman Gill and Hardik – two of India’s white-ball stars.

“It sounds stupid to me but if Jaiswal is out, you could have Sanju (Samson) at 3, Suryakumar (Yadav) at 4, (Shivam) Dube and Rinku at 5 and 6, (Ravindta) adeja at 7,” he said.