NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer
Wasim Jaffer
has expressed his backing for retaining the opening batting combination of
Virat Kohli
and skipper
Rohit Sharma
in the Super Eight phase of the ongoing
T20 World Cup
.
Jaffer is confident that the seasoned pair will bounce back and find their rhythm in the Super 8 matches, beginning with their pivotal encounter against Afghanistan in Barbados on June 20, despite their underwhelming performance in the tournament thus far.
Jaffer's comments come amid Kohli and Rohit's struggles to make an impact in the tournament. Kohli, who came into the World Cup on the back of his stellar form in the IPL 2024, has scored a paltry five runs in three innings, with his highest score being just four runs against Pakistan.
T20 World Cup 2024: Points Table | Schedule
Likewise, Rohit has accumulated only 68 runs in his three matches, with a solitary significant innings of 52 against Ireland.
According to IANS, Jaffer, in conversation with Star Sports, emphasized the need to persist with the experienced duo, even though they have encountered difficulties in their recent performances.
"Now that you are stuck with both of them, I don't think it's gonna make sense because you're gonna split both of them up," Jaffer explained.
"You might probably think of playing Yashasvi Jaiswal. That's probably what you're thinking, and then
Rishabh Pant
, who has done so well at number three, he has to bat even lower down the order, probably at number four. Then where does
Suryakumar Yadav
bat? So it's going to mess up the whole batting order, so I think they'll probably stick with that."
Jaffer stressed that altering the batting lineup might create additional issues and hinder the effectiveness of crucial players such as Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav. Pant has excelled at the number three position, while Yadav performs best when batting higher in the order.
"Rishabh has done well at number three. Suryakumar, you don't want to bat him any lower than that, so I think they'll stick with that. But yeah, they have to go really hard in the powerplay. We've seen when Australia have done that against England, they were so ahead in the powerplay, getting that 74 runs. That's where you can make a mark. So Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the way they are batting, you could see that happen in the powerplay in West Indies."
India secured their spot in the Super Eight with a resounding seven-wicket victory against co-hosts USA. As they gear up for their Caribbean clash with a formidable Afghanistan side, the Men in Blue will heavily rely on the resilience and skill of Kohli and Rohit to regain their form.
English (US) ·