Captain Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma opened the innings for India in a T20I for the first time on Saturday and their 94-run stand helped India beat England by 36 runs and clinched the series 3-2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Before the start of the final of the India-England T20 match, the hosts made a tactical change. Virat Kohli replaced KL Rahul with T20 specialist bowler T Natarajan. The inclusion of Natarajan gave skipper Virat Kohli a sixth bowling option. KL Rahul’s performance in India vs England T20 series has been below par. In the first four matches, Rahul returned with two ducks and two low scores of 1 and 14, respectively.

Virat Kohli Replacing KL Rahul Was Nothing But A Tactical Move: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma has revealed that Virat Kohli replaced KL Rahul was nothing but a tactical move as India wanted to bring in another bowler in the eleven against England in the 5th T20I on Saturday. Virat Kohli moved up the order after batting at number 4 in the last two games.

Rohit Sharma gave the team a dream start with 64 runs off 34 balls. He said that since the management was keen on including a bowler, KL Rahul’s poor form in the series made that decision easier. However, the senior opener also confirms that there is no long-term plan fixed yet and that the tactic was decided for one game.

“Looking at the current form I think the team management decided to go with the best XI. But having said that it doesn’t send any signal that KL will not be considered or anything like that. This was just for one particular game. Things might change as we get closer to the World Cup. We do understand his ability, we do understand his contribution at the top of what he has done for us. So I am not gonna rule out anything neither is gonna say that this is the preferred batting line-up for the World Cup,” said Rohit.

Rohit Sharma points out that Rahul has been in supreme form in white-ball cricket over the past couple of years and will remain in considerations.

“We do understand his ability and his contribution at the top, what he’s done for us. So, yeah, I’m not going to rule out anything or neither will I say that this is the preferred batting lineup for a World Cup”.

“There is still a good amount of time left with IPL in between. And then, I’m hearing, there will be a few T20s as well before the T20 World Cup. So, you know, good enough time for us, then to judge what will be the best possible eleven for us,” Rohit Sharma added.

KL Rahul can be an extremely dangerous batsmen on his day and we will like to see him in-form in IPL 2021 which starts from 9th April 2021.