After the Men In Blue lost the first game of the three-match Twenty20 series by seven wickets against England at Kanpur’s Green Park, India skipper Virat Kohli stated he was aiming to provide an early momentum to the side after opening the innings with KL Rahul, who’s struggling to find form.

“I open in IPL and that is a T20 tournament. So I have an idea (of how to adapt to the role) and that is why I went in to open,” Kohli said during the post-match press conference.

The 28-year-old Kohli came to open the innings while playing some delightful shots before England bowlers opened the floodgates with some disciplined bowling to restrict hosts to 147.

“I have no urge to open, I play at three, I can play anywhere according to what the management thinks. You can’t ask someone to open if he has not done it in the past. It would be unfair on him,” Kohli said.

At the strike-rate of 111.54, Kohli scored 29 off 26 balls, which included four boundaries.

“I did not go there to look special. Everyone anyway was expecting that,” Kohli added.

In the recent past, many players suffered from injuries which include the 29-year-old right-handed batsman Rohit Sharma, who is currently recovering after successful thigh surgery in London.

“My opening gives more balance to the team. You can have an extra batsman in the middle order,” Kohli remarked.

The top-order batsman Rohit suffered from a thigh injury in the fifth One-Day International game against New Zealand in Visakhapatnam last October.

“A player like Suresh Raina gets more dangerous at three. So when Rohit is not around as an opener, I can anytime step up because it provides more balance”, Kohli said.

Kohli expressed top-order batsmen play an important role in any side and his aim is to balance the side and back the young players.