Can Rishabh Pant open for India and Virat Kohli return to No.3 position in Super 8 at T20 World Cup?

Even though Yashasvi Jaiswal is waiting in the wings, Rohit Sharma's Team India is expected to keep the winning combination intact in the Super 8 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup. Roped in as Rohit Sharma's opening partner, veteran batter Virat Kohli has struggled in his new role at the ICC event. After dominating the bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper was expected to cap off a run-fest World Cup.

However, Kohli failed to fire for Team India in the Group meetings against Ireland, Pakistan and the United States of America (USA). The former India skipper recorded forgetful scores of one (against Ireland), four (against Pakistan), and zero (against the USA) in the group stage of the ICC T20 World Cup. While Kohli is yet to register a single double-digit score, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has excelled at the No.3 position. With India arriving in the Caribbean for the Super 8 stage, should India reinstate Kohli as the No.3 batter in its lineup?

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Former Indian spinner Piyush Chawla feels the think tank of the Men In Blue should avoid making any changes in their batting order. Backing Kohli as Rohit's opening partner, the veteran spinner reminded Kohli's critics that the batting maestro was doing wonders in the IPL 2024 as an opener. Thus, Chawla expects Kohli to resume normal services on the much better pitches in the Caribbean at the T20 World Cup.

'Pant is doing well at No.3. Kohli had a brilliant IPL'

“There is no need to make that change because Rishabh Pant is doing well at No.3. And in the US, the conditions were extremely tough. And now you are coming to the Caribbean, where the conditions are better for batters. Also, you see different batting approaches. The way Virat Kohli has batted, it's not that there's a lack of form because 2 or 3 innings won't describe it. He just had a brilliant IPL before that. So he was doing wonders. So there is no need to make any changes and keep things like that only,” Chawla told Hindustan Times on a special edition of Star Sports Press Room for Super 8.

Kohli eyes Babar Azam's feat in Super 8

Kohli recorded his first-ever golden duck at the T20 World Cup against the USA. With Kohli recording a slow start, Pakistan's Babar Azam surpassed the ex-India skipper to become the all-time leading run-scorer in T20Is. Kohli needs 104 runs to become the leading run-scorer in the shortest format. With one century and 37 fifties in the 20-over format, the 35-year-old has amassed 4,042 runs at a strike rate of 137.90. The former India skipper has played 120 games in the shortest format.