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Xtra Time Web Desk: Team India captain Virat Kohli on Monday put an end to all the speculation as far as the opening pair is concerned for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021. Kohli confirmed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will start the proceedings for India in the marquee event. It is to be noted Kohli had announced during the T20I series against England earlier this year, that he would open India’s innings in the T20 World Cup alongside Rohit.

However, KL Rahul superlative form in the recently concluded IPL 2021 influenced Kohli to change his decision. Rahul had accumulated 626 runs in 13 matches at an average and strike rate of 62.6 and 138.80 respectively. Compared to Rahul, Kohli and Rohit has accumulated 405 and 381 runs with their average being below 30.

“Things were different before IPL, now it’s difficult to look beyond KL Rahul at the top of the order. Rohit is a no-brainer. World-class player, he’s been solid up front. I will be batting at 3. That’s the only news I can give to start off,” Kohli said during the toss against England in its first warm up match.

The Indian captain also made it clear that the team combination is sorted as far as the opening match against Pakistan is concerned.

“Adaptability is what matters. People play different roles in their IPL teams. It’s about adapting quickly to this team now, who plays where is what matters. We are pretty sorted in terms of how we are going to start in the first game,” Kohli said.