Former India opener Aakash Chopra has opined that the Indian team should open with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, while captain Virat Kohli should bat at the no.3 spot in the playing XI in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021.

Apart from Rohit, Rahul, and Ishan Kishan, India captain Virat Kohli, who opens the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, and made a desire to open for India earlier this year, is another option who could come out with Rahul to start the proceedings for India.

“The first thing is the batting order, who is going to open? Last time when they played, Rohit and Kohli had opened, and both had hit a lot and the talk started to make them open because Rahul was not making runs at that time,” Chopra said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.

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“But now Rahul is firing. He is not walking; he is running and running better than Rohit and Virat. So, please get Rohit and Rahul to open. Virat Kohli at No.3, I want to see how Surya is batting. I want the carefree and fearless approach from Rahul. I want the big innings from Rohit because he is only showing the trailer, we haven't seen the picture for a long time in white-ball cricket,” he added.

India will play a couple of warmup games ahead of the opening tie with Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. India’s first warmup match will be against England on October 18, while they will play Australia on Oct 20, with both matches taking place in ICC Academy ground in Dubai.