Team India registered another important win in their second encounter of the ongoing T20 World Cup as they surpassed the Dutch challenge without much ado. However, the beeswax for the opening partnership as KL Rahul had another failed innings.
So far, the Indian batting unit has struggled to get their wheels rolling with the opening partnership being a major question mark. Despite a decent show against Australia and South Africa, KL Rahul’s start to the World Cup has left many fans in doubt.
The question is does India have a replacement for Rahul at the top of the order. Even if the answer isn’t concrete, yet the Men in Blue found a temporary fix in Rishabh Pant. The southpaw felt like a perfect piece of puzzle in the middle of India’s hard-hitting approach.
However, there are two things that one needs to understand for this change to take place. First and foremost, the Australian grounds are way bigger and like Rishabh loves to take the aerial route, it can be catastrophic in most of the occasions.
Pant, however, has previously underlined his brilliance in Australia but that was in the longer format of the game where he could sustain the momentum and play accordingly. But then with the over limit being on the lower side in case of T20 cricket, biding time isn’t an option.
That makes the case clear for India. If Pant is to come out as an opener, he will only be used as someone who can exploit the powerplay and help his team set up the platform for a bigger score. This negates the fact that the wicketkeeper is actually capable of producing much better displays.
Now coming to the curious case of KL Rahul, if Pant comes as an opener, either Rahul sits out or he drops to the middle order. The second option doesn’t make any sense for the Men in Blue, especially with a power-packed lineup featuring the likes of an in-form Kohli, Hardik and Surya. This would be a disrupting move and we saw back in the 2021 World Cup what can unforced experiments do to a team.
Hence, the answer to this million-dollar question is simple. Rahul remains in the team and he comes out to open as India desperately hopes for him to find his form. We are all aware of the fact that if he does manage to get the momentum going, it is sheer devastation from thereon, knowing the kind of carnage that he is known for piling up.
