'I believe that it is time that KL Rahul opens with Rohit Sharma'- VVS Laxman

Team India’s home Test season is over and the focus has well-and-truly shifted towards preparing for next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in  Australia. Virat Kohli is back for the three-match T20I series against the West Indies, starting December 06 in Hyderabad.

Apart from the three T20Is versus the defending World T20 Champions West Indies, the Men in Blue will host Sri Lanka in January for three T20s before taking a flight to the Southern Hemisphere for a full tour of New Zealand which will kick-off with a five-match series.

So, that makes it 11 T20s for Team India before the Indian Premier League takes centerstage to zero in on their team combinations for the marquee event. One of the issues concerning Team India in the shortest format of the game is the conundrum of choosing between Shikhar Dhawan or KL Rahul as the opening partner for Rohit Sharma. Dhawan’s recent form and his perennial struggles in T20 cricket are well documented.

With KL Rahul boasting of a superior record than the southpaw coupled by his recent exploits, both in the third T20I vs Bangladesh (52) and the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for Dhawan.

Apart from KL Rahul, VVS Laxman also lauded Shreyas Iyer

Dhawan’s absence makes KL Rahul his natural successor and former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman has also echoed the same during a TV show. “The big question is that with Virat Kohli back and KL Rahul doing a good job batting at number three so then where will he fit? I believe that it is time that KL Rahul opens with Rohit Sharma. I would definitely have Rahul open with Rohit for the West Indies Series.” Laxman was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.

Apart from Rahul, Laxman heaped praise the current incumbent at No.4- Shreyas Iyer. Ever since he got the opportunity to bat in the middle-order, Iyer has taken to it like fish to water and has already played some crucial innings in his short career.

“I was very impressed with the way Shreyas Iyer has batted so far. The best part about him was when during the last T20 International in Nagpur when India lost their top 3 batsmen, he had the ability to assess the condition very well and was very versatile in his approach and when Rahul was the aggressor he played second fiddle and the moment Rahul got out and Rishabh Pant came to the crease under pressure and was not able to rotate the strike, Shreyas Iyer just registered that and changed his gear and that is what you want at a number four,” Laxman said.

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