IND vs AUS: "KL Rahul is going to be our opener for sure," says Rohit Sharma ahead of the T20I series

Rohit Sharma-led Team India will square off against Australia in a three-match T20I series, beginning on Tuesday in Mohali. It would be interesting to see whether the hosts continue with the same level of experimentation in the IND vs AUS T20I series that was on display during the Asia Cup, where the side failed to make it to the final of the continental tournament. 

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Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel have recovered from their injuries, so that is an added bonus for Team India. Skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday addressed a press conference ahead of the IND vs AUS T20I series, where he spoke about what to expect. Meanwhile, he also opens about whether Virat Kohli can be looked at as an opener in the shortest format.

"It is always nice to have options available for you. It is important going into a World Cup that you have flexibility. You want the players to be in the best shape batting at any position. When we try and do something new, that does not mean that's a problem."

said Rohit during a press conference

"For us, we understand the quality of all our players and what they bring to us. But yeah, it is an option (Virat Kohli opening) for us, we will always keep that in mind. Since we have not taken the third opener, he opens for his franchise in the IPL and he has done really well, so it is a definite option for us," he said further while talking about whether Kohli can be looked at as an opener.

IND vs AUS: "Virat Kohli is our third opener" - Rohit Sharma

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"Virat Kohli is our third opener and he will open in some of the games. In the last match of the Asia Cup, we were happy with the way he played. But KL Rahul will open the batting in the World Cup, we do not want to experiment with that position a lot, his performance sometimes goes quite unnoticed."

Talking about Virat opening the batting, Rohit said

"He is a very important player for Team India. For us, I just want to make it clear, that we are clear in our thought process. We do not have any confusion, we are very clear about what KL Rahul brings to the table for us, he is a quality player and is very important for us. His presence at the top is very crucial for us," said the 35-year-old.

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Ahead of the series opener, it was confirmed that Mohammed Shami won't play any part as he has tested positive for COVID-19 and Umesh Yadav has been named as his replacement.

"There were few options, but few of them are injured like Prasidh. Siraj is playing county, we do not want him to fly all the way, maybe play one or two games. That won't be fair. Obviously, Shami's unfortunate incident with him. Avesh was quite sick in the Asia Cup and he needs some time to recover. From a fitness point of view, he needed some time and rebuild his fitness. All those things were considered.

Guys like Umesh, and Shami, who have been bowling for a long time, do not need to be playing a format to be considered," said Rohit.