T20 World Cup 2021: KL Rahul or Virat Kohli - who should open for India?

A major conundrum for India heading into the T20 World Cup is about who their designated openers should be.

The common consensus is for the team to open with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. But could there be a twist in the tale where India decide to open with Virat Kohli, who is no stranger to walking out to bat in that position?

Expert opinion suggests Rahul's red-hot form in the IPL makes him the prime candidate to open the innings. The recently concluded IPL 2021 saw him score a whopping 626 runs from 13 matches, comprising six half-centuries.

Then comes his record as India's opener. Rahul has scored 1118 runs in 31 innings for the Men in Blue at the top of the order.

Rahul is still tipped to open the innings, but the status quo could be disrupted if you throw Kohli into the mix.

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Should India gamble with Virat Kohli as the opener?

The last time Virat Kohli suited up for India in T20Is, he stacked up 231 runs from five matches with three unbeaten half-centuries at a strike-rate of 147.13 against England. Kohli's efforts won him the Player of the Series award. He even opened the innings in the final match of the series and blazed his way to an unbeaten 52-ball 80.

After that knock, Kohli declared that he would like to continue opening for India in the shorter format. The prospect of him facing as many deliveries as he can alongside Rohit Sharma is certainly mouth-watering. However, the dip in average Kohli suffered when he walked out to open for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) this season cannot be discounted.

The decrease in strike rate for Kohli in the IPL post the Powerplay can either be looked at as an aberration, or as a long-term struggle to ramp up the scoring rate with the field set back. He managed 405 runs and a few good knocks during IPL 2021, but his consistency took a bit of a hit. Nevertheless, the Indian think-tank will be wary of that becoming a pattern.

Former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra strongly feels that India need to open with Rahul and Sharma. Speaking about India's opening combination for the T20 World Cup on his YouTube channel, he said:

"The first thing is the batting order, who is going to open? Last time when they played, Rohit and Kohli had opened, and both had hit a lot and the talk started to make them open because Rahul was not making runs at that time."

Chopra continued:

"But now Rahul is firing. He is not walking; he is running and running better than Rohit and Virat. So, please get Rohit and Rahul to open. Virat Kohli at No.3, I want to see how Surya is batting. I want the carefree and fearless approach from Rahul."

What are your thoughts on India's opening combo for the T20 World Cup?