New Delhi: Saba Karim, the former India wicketkeeper-batter and ex-member of the senior selection committee, said he was highly optimistic about right-handed batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul getting back to finding form at the right time for the side after the duo go through “2-3 good practice sessions”.
Both Kohli and Rahul are coming back to India’s T20I side for the Asia Cup. But the challenge for the duo is to adapt themselves to the new, attacking approach with the bat India has embraced whenever the duo were not featuring regularly since last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE.
In the past, both Rahul and Kohli have been known for being slow starters in the shortest format of the game though the latter did show signs of adapting to that approach during the two T20Is he played against England in July, going for his shots right from the word go before falling cheaply.
“My top order is captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. And I’m backing experience to do well against a big team like Pakistan and also in an important tournament like Asia Cup. I can understand that Virat Kohli has struggled with form.”
“KL Rahul, would love to see him get more runs but I still feel that both Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, if they undergo 2-3 good practice sessions, I’m sure they’ll get back to form at the right time for India,” said Karim on ‘Sports Over The Top show’ on Sports18.
Karim further remarked that he sees the option of Suryakumar Yadav being used as a floater in India’s playing eleven for the versatility he brings in to the side. Apart from possessing a range of shots against pacers and spinners, Suryakumar can excel in any role, seen from his 117 against England coming at number four or his sparkling 76 against West Indies as an opener.
“Suryakumar Yadav is such a multi-dimensional player, I can keep him as a floater. I can push him up the order, if my two openers bat say till the 7th-8th over, I can push in SKY then. Or in case it is required, I can also push him down the order because he’s such a player who can give me value at whatever number he bats and I’m looking at my 4-5-6 as floaters.”
Karim signed off by stating he would keep Rishabh Pant’s role flexible in the eleven due to his left-handedness, which is a rare scene in India’s right-handed heavy main batting order. “I will in fact keep Rishabh Pant very handy. Because if I feel that I need to push in a left-hander at the top of the order, I can do that as well. But as of now my fixed three positions at the top would be Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.”
–IANS
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