Virat Kohli should consider opening the batting in ODIs and T20Is: Sunil Gavaskar

India suffered a 10-wicket drubbing at the hands of Australia at Wankhede Stadium on January 14. Captain Virat Kohli endured a rare failure as the right-hander was dismissed by Australian spinner Adam Zampa for just 16. A defeat for India in the opening ODI gave Australia an early 1-0 advantage in the three-match series. Prior to the second ODI in Rajkot on January 17, former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had an interesting view that Indian captain Virat Kohli should consider opening the batting in white-ball cricket for the ‘Men in Blue’.

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Virat Kohli should open in ODIs and T20Is: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar is currently part of the commentary team for the official broadcasters of the ongoing India vs Australia ODI series. During the pre-match analysis of the Rajkot ODI, Sunil Gavaskar opined that Virat Kohli should consider opening for team India because of his prolific run-scoring spree. The Indian captain is currently ranked number 1 in ICC ODI Batsmen rankings.

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According to Sunil Gavaskar, the best batsman of the side should face the maximum number of deliveries. His statement comes on the backdrop of speculations that Virat Kohli will permanently demote himself in the batting order to accommodate Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, all of whom are openers. The former cricketer said that instead of dropping Kohli down to No.4, he should be promoted to open the innings rather.

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Ind vs Aus 2nd ODI updates

Australia won the toss and elected to field first. Team India openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got the home side off to a flying start, as they raced to 54-0 after 9.2 overs while writing this report. Virat Kohli and co. must conquer Rajkot in order to stay alive in the series.

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