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Xtra Time Web Desk: Sourav Ganguly stated that the Indian team management should make Virat Kohli an opener in next month's T20 World Cup to capitalise on the star batter's strong form in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

 Kohli now holds the Orange Cap in the IPL, with 634 runs from 12 matches, an average of 70.44 and an amazing strike rate of 153.51, which is much better than his lifetime rate of 134.31.

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 "Virat is playing exceptionally well. The way Kohli batted last night - 90 in quick time, you need to use him as an opener in the T20 World Cup. He should open, evidenced by his last few IPL innings which have been outstanding," Ganguly told PTI.

 Ganguly stated that India has selected a balanced squad for the T20 World Cup, which has the potential to win the trophy after a 17-year absence. India's only T20 World Cup victory came in 2007, at the inaugural event in South Africa. "This is an excellent squad. I think they have picked the best possible squad. Apart from batting depth, bowling looks excellent. "Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the world at the moment. We have experience in Kuldeep, Axar, Siraj. It's an ideal combination we have this time," said Ganguly.

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This season's IPL has seen teams easily surpass the 250-run barrier, and the 51-year-old predicts that trend will continue in the future. "This is going to be the trend in the years to come. T20 cricket has become a power-oriented game and that's what it is going to be. I was reading Sanju Samson's comments the other day, where he said there's no time to settle down in modern T20s. You just have to hit, and that's the way it is going to be," said Ganguly.

 Ganguly, who was no stranger to smashing monster sixes during his playing days, attributed the IPL's enormous totals to batters' evolving mindsets and the Impact Player rule. "Now, in IPL we are seeing scores like 240, 250 regularly. The main reasons are good batting wickets and the grounds are also not big in India. In the last game between Delhi and Rajasthan, 26 sixes were hit in a 40-over game, which is almost one six every over. "That's how this game has gone and that's how the players have started approaching the game. The Impact Player rule, where every team has the possibility of adding another batsman, has also added another dimension to it," he detailed.