I think KL Rahul will open with Rohit Sharma in the T20 WC 2022: Parthiv Patel

Skipper Rohit Sharma brilliantly led India from the front with the bat against the West Indies in the first T20I at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday. He anchored the Men In Blue’s run chase with a quickfire 40 runs off just 19 deliveries and also went on to be the top scorer for the hosts in the contest. Rohit received great support from youngster Ishan Kishan who scored 35, opening the innings.

Even though Ishan played well as an opener, former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel reckons that the southpaw will not be opening the innings for the Indian team in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia later this year and instead, it will be the current limited-overs vice-captain, KL Rahul. Giving further clarification on the same, Patel has said that the Karnataka cricketer is a long-term opening option according to him whereas, Kishan allows Rohit to take a bit of time when he is in the right mind space.

Ishan Kishan is not a bad option when he is in rhythm: Parthiv Patel

“KL Rahul is a long-term opening option for me. When Rahul returns to the team, I think he will open the innings with Rohit. Personally, I feel he will open with Rohit in the T20 World Cup,” said Parthiv Patel while speaking to Cricbuzz.

“Ishan Kishan is not a bad option when he is in rhythm. When he is in the right mind space, he allows Rohit to take a bit of time. But I think it will be Rahul and Rohit at the World Cup”, he said.

Coming back to the contest, the Indian bowlers did exceptionally well to restrict the visitors to a manageable score of 157/7 from their 20 overs after captain Rohit Sharma had called it right at the toss. Medium-pacer Harshal Patel and leggie Ravi Bishnoi were the pick of the bowlers for India with two scalps apiece.

In reply, after openers, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan were dismissed having laid a solid foundation, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant did not last long either. In the end, stellar knocks from the middle-order duo of Suryamar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer helped the Men in Blue get past the finish line by six wickets with seven balls to spare. Yadav remained unbeaten on 34 from 18 deliveries while Iyer scored 24 runs off 13 balls.