KL Rahul And Rohit Sharma (Image Credit: Twitter)
KL Rahul And Rohit Sharma (Image Credit: Twitter)

Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel believes that Rohit Sharma will stick with KL Rahul as his opening partner for the T20 World Cup. Notable that KL Rahul was ruled out for the T20I series against West Indies as he injured his left hamstring so Ishan Kishan got a chance to open with Rohit in the first T20I and the left-hander struggled to get going throughout the innings.

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma---Image: Twitter
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma—Image: Twitter

KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma formed 5 consecutive 50+ run partnership last year

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Parthiv Patel said that Rahul will be back to open the innings once he returns.

“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,” Parthiv Patel said.

Parthiv further stated that Ishan Kishan is also a good option as he often gets going from the first ball which gives Rohit Sharma some time to settle.

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

Rohit and Rahul opened in 19 innings together for India in T20Is in which they scored with an average of 55.26 including 4-century partnerships. In fact, they gave at least fifty run stand in the last 5 matches they opened together.

“For me, this has been the No. 1 opening pair for quite some time. Of course, when it comes to options, India have innumerable ones and it is up to them which one to pick. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Venkatesh Iyer, Ishan Kishan – all are openers. But for me, in T20Is, Rohit and KL Rahul are the best options as openers for the T20 World Cup,” Parthiv Patel said.

Ishan Kishan (Image Credit: BCCI)

Speaking about Ishan Kishan’s struggle in the first match, Parthiv Patel opined that he was trying too hard and it wasn’t his day.

“Ishan Kishan was trying to hit the ball too hard instead of timing it. When he was playing cross-batted strokes, he was using the bottom hand so much that the face of the bat was closing. Instead, he could have shown some patience and played a few shots with a straight bat. But it just did not happen for him on the day,” he opined.

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