India face Afghanistan in a must-win game in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Having lost their first two games India need to win all their remaining games in the tournament and hope a few other results go their way for a semifinal spot. Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar has spoken about India’s opening combination ahead of the game.
Several eyebrows were raised after India altered not only with their opening combination but also with their batting line-up in the game against New Zealand. As it turned out, they posted a below-par total batting first and lost the game in the end.
Weighing in on the combination, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels the team will not stick to the opening pair from the previous match and expects Rohit Sharma to return as the opener along with KL Rahul. He expects Virat Kohli to bat at number three with others to follow.
“I think in this game, Rohit will open with Rahul and Virat will come in at No. 3. At No. 4 or 5 Ishan Kishan should come. We don’t even know if Suryakumar Yadav is fit. He was not dropped but he had some issues in the back which is why Ishan Kishan played in his place. But if he is fit, Suryakumar is likely to return,” Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.
Gavaskar further said Kishan came down the order at 4 or 5 in the final overs and hit the ball from the very start. the southpaw will also have a license to throw his bat at everything during the phase of play.
Ishan Kishan Should Bat At 4 or 5: Sunil Gavaskarr
“I think Ishan should bat at either No. 4 or 5. It will be good for him because when he comes to bat, I am guessing around 4-5 overs will be left and he can swing his bat as much as he wants. At the start, there is some problem because he does not know the manner in which to bat, how many runs needed. That is the only change I see happening. Rohit returns to his opening position and Ishan, if he plays, will bat at either No. 4 or 5,” explained Gavaskar.
India will play Afghanistan in their next fixture on November 3 in Abu Dhabi and against Scotland and Namibia in Dubai again.
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