|| India correspondent ||
As the third T20I between India and England is going to take place, former India wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta said that the host needs to take a call for their opening pair as they have to choose between KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma for the rest of the T20I series against England.
Meanwhile, youngster Ishan Kishan has made his debut in the last game and left the world in a surprise with his stunning fifty. And, Deep Dasgupta, while speaking to Sports Today on Monday, said that he deserves another chance to open after his match-winning performance on the very first game for India.
Notably, Rohit Sharma was rested for the first two T20Is after the Test series and in his absence, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan opened the innings for India in the first T20I. However, Kohli also said that they have been trying out new players to check their bench strength for the upcoming T20 World Cup later this year.
Ishan Kishan scored a match-winning 56 off just 32 balls in their convincing win on Tuesday and it will be interesting to see whom he team management will back as another opener alongside Rohit Sharma for the 3rd T20I in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, March 16. However, the veteran said that KL Rahul can be rested if India are trying to bring back Rohit Sharma for the final three games.
"Yes, KL Rahul. He has been brilliant but in the last two games, he has been out of sorts which is understandable as he has not played cricket in a while. You know the last competitive cricket he played was against Australia in December. So keeping all that in mind I can understand," Deep Dasgupta said.
"Virat [Kohli] mentioned that Rohit will rest for two and two is gone. And Ishan has played the way he has. So it's a big call to take whether you rest Rahul and get Rohit. It's the logical thing to do. I think the way Ishan batted and you need someone like that especially in this format and can bat fearlessly," he further added. "Rishabh [Pant] batting at 4 was a good idea to get that momentum going. If Rohit has to play the logical line will be KL Rahul has to rest."