T20 World Cup 2022: Rohit Sharma backs KL Rahul as an opener

KL Rahul (PC: Twitter)

Rohit Sharma has made it clear that KL Rahul will be his opening partner in the T20 World Cup 2022 starting next month. 

Much debate has been surfacing around social media if Virat Kohli can be a possible opener for the Indian team, given his terrific form and track record in this position. 

In the last Asia Cup 2022 fixture, Kohli batted alongside Rahul, in the absence of Sharma, and hit the highest individual score in T20Is for the Men in Blue with a knock of 122*. 

With the Australia and South Africa series at home ahead of the show-piece event, India are finalizing their strategies and assigning roles to different individuals. 

In this regard, the Indian skipper Sharma spoke at length about the opening combination for the team in the next two months.  

The 35-year-old hailed Rahul's match-winning performances in the last two-three years and termed him as a crucial player for the team. 

Here is what Sharma said about Rahul:

"His performances for India tend to go unnoticed. He is a very important player for India. If you look at his record over the last two-three years, it is very good.

"We are very clear about what KL brings to us. He is a very, very important and a quality player, and a match-winner as well. His presence at the top is very, very crucial for us."

India will lock horns with Australia in the first fixture of the three-match T20I series on Tuesday at Mohali. It will be interesting to see if the Indian openers can certainly push the paddle and drive the team to start on a positive note.

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