3 reasons why Virat Kohli must play as opener for India in Afghanistan T20Is

The upcoming three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan will largely be focused on the return of senior figures in Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. It will be interesting to see the duo, who are set to play T20Is for the first time in over a year, adapt to the aggressive approach India have completely embodied in their absence.

While there is clarity surrounding Rohit Sharma's role, which will not be too different from his approach while batting in the 2023 ODI World Cup, there are a lot of question marks over Virat Kohli. There is doubt whether the modern-day shortest format still has room for the ace batter's class or will he need to revamp his game altogether.

Kohli has a huge point to prove to the people suggesting that his inclusion in the squad is a step backward for the Indian team, who are among the favorites for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. One of the ways through which Kohli could silence the naysayers is by having a landmark series, and the best way for it is if he opens the innings.

On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why Virat Kohli must play as an opener for India in the Afghanistan T20Is.

#1 Anchor role is more or less a dead role nowadays

The notion of preserving wickets and going ballistic in the end has been outdated, when teams can just maintain the same aggressive approach for the entirety of the innings. There is potentially no place for an anchor in the shortest format these days, especially in optimum batting conditions.

Moreover, with the kind of batting depth that teams have these days, bolstered with all-rounders in the lower order, losing wickets is not the biggest concern anymore compared to inferior scoring rate.

India have used batters like Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma in the No. 3 role during Kohli's absence, and the young batters have adapted well to the all-out aggressive approach.

It remains to be seen whether Kohli can catch up to the demands and get going from the word go coming in at No. 3, and match the tempo of the batters around him.

If not No. 3, the only other option to accommodate Kohli in the batting unit is at the top of the order, where he can use the field restrictions and set up a platform for the rest of the batters to build on.

#2 Kohli has had success opening the innings in the past

When it comes to his T20 career, Kohli has batted a fair share of it at the top of the order. Barring a brief spell in IPL 2022, where he played at No. 3, he has spent the majority of his recent seasons with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as an opening batter.

Even in Indian colors, he has made sporadic appearances as an opener. However, with the plethora of opening batters always at the nation's disposal and a lack of candidates to take over the No. 3 role, he only played nine innings at the top.

The 35-year-old has a strike rate of 135 while playing at No. 3 in T20Is, and the figure rises to 161.29 when he opens the innings. Kohli's last appearance as an opener in T20Is was coincidentally against Afghanistan during the 2022 Asia Cup, where he recorded his maiden T20I hundred.

He also opened the innings with Rohit Sharma in the home T20I series against England in 2021. Kohli scored an unbeaten 80 as the pair put on a dominant 94-run opening-wicket partnership at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

#3 Kohli's struggle against spin in the middle overs is well documented

Kohli has had his fair share of issues in his attempts to impose dominance over spinners in the middle overs. The lack of boundaries and the dot balls often increase the pressure, which strike rotation solely cannot resolve.

Kohli's strike rate in the IPL against spin since 2020 reads only 102, and his numbers in T20I cricket is hardly any better. As a result, he might find it a bit difficult to take on Afghanistan spin twins Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmed with the field spread out.

The best course of action, in this case, would be to let Kohli take advantage when the pacers operate in the powerplay, and when the ball is coming onto the bat quite well.

Where will Virat Kohli bat in the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan? Let us know what you think.