Former India batsman VVS Laxman has suggested that KL Rahul should play as an opener alongside Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan should be kept as a back-up option for the upcoming T20WC.
The ICC T20 World Cup will take place later this year in India and the preparations will begin for the hosts with the upcoming five-match T20I series against England. The event is taking place after a gap of 5 years after last year’s tournament in Australia was postponed due to Covid-19.
VVS Laxman Needs KL Rahul to play as Opener
“It will be a tough question, as far as the selection of the second opener is concerned. There’s no doubt about that because Rohit Sharma is an automatic choice in white ball cricket. I will still go with KL Rahul because over the last few months and years I think the Indian team management went with KL Rahul as an opening batsman and he has done really well in that position.
“Yes, Shikhar Dhawan had a fantastic IPL, the way he batted top of the order, scoring centuries for Delhi capitals and then he’s in tremendous form for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare, where he scored a big 100 in that tournament as well. With KL Rahul as an opening combination, you want someone who’s second.
Keeping in mind the T20 World Cup, you have to identify who your openers are going to be there in the World Cup and back them; don’t chop and change. You have someone as experienced as Shikhar Dhawan, who can be the backup opener in case one of these openers Rohit Sharma/ KL Rahul gets injured or lose their form,” Laxman said while highlighting the reason behind his choice of openers.
As Laxman himself said, it is going to be a very difficult job for the team management because both batsmen have been in great form.
Rahul was the stand-out batsman of the last IPL as he won the Orange Cap with an aggregate of 670 runs from 14 matches. But his performances could not take Kings XI Punjab, now renamed Punjab Kings, to the play-offs.
Dhawan finished second in the run charts with 618 runs from 17 matches and played a big role in Delhi Capitals reaching the final. He also scored back-to-back centuries in the tournament.
Perhaps only performance will be the key behind finding out who will open for India for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.
The last T20 World Cup took place in India itself in 2016, where the hosts lost to eventual champions West Indies in the semi-final. India, who won the maiden tournament in 2007, came close to the title in 2014 too, when they lost in the final to Sri Lanka.
