Harbhajan Singh reveals his choice for openers in T20 World Cup

27 April, 2024

Kohli, 35, was the Player of the Tournament of the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cup and also finished as the top-scorer of the 2022 mega event. In all those events, he played at number third but this time he could see a change in his batting order.

Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and others believe that Kohli should be opening the innings alongside skipper Rohit Sharma but former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh isn’t of the same mind.

As per Harbhajan, Yashashvi Jaiswal should open the innings alongside The Hitman while Kohli should continue to play at number 3, where he has excelled in the past as well.

“I believe Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma should open for India, and Virat Kohli should come at no.3,” Harbhajan told Star Sports. “I would like to see a left-right combination at the top. If 6-7 overs are played, and if we have a player like Shivam Dube, he can walk in at no.3. Kohli can then walk in at 4.

“We have to take the horses-for-courses approach here, and there's no disrespect in that. Kohli is a great player, whether he plays at no.3 or 4, the team comes first. Even if you ask him this question, he will say the team comes first.

Whether Kohli will open the innings or come down at number three, is yet to be seen but in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, the 35-year-old has amassed 430 runs in nine innings for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as an opener.

Remember, India is in Group A with arch-rivals Pakistan and the two sides will take on one another in one of the most anticipated matches of the World Cup on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.

Groups for T20 World Cup 2024Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, United States

Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman

Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea

Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal