IND vs ENG: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan to “definitely start” as openers in ODIs

India captain Virat Kohli said on the eve of the three-match ODI series against England in Pune that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan would remain India’s first-choice openers in the 50-over format. Kohli also said that his move to open with Rohit Sharma in the fifth and final T20I on Saturday did not mean that he would regularly open for India for all formats. Kohli said at the pre-series virtual press conference, “As far as the opening combination is concerned, Shikhar (Dhawan) and Rohit (Sharma) will definitely make a debut. They have been amazing for us over the years.”

On opening the batting with Rohit and whether it will be seen more in the future, Kohli said: “It is no guarantee that it will be considered in the future.

Kohli said, “To open a slot for Surya (Suryakumar Yadav), the way he is playing, I can do anything to do that.” His debut in the recently concluded T20I series, batting up the order.

Kohli recently spoke out against the controversial ‘umpire call’ in the Decision Review System (DRS) and asked that if the on-field umpire is not in a position, why can there be a “I don’t know” call? Make a definite call.

The Indian captain confirmed his reservations against the ‘umpire call’ and said that there should not be any gray area in the game which could affect the result in a big tournament.

Kohli said, “I played for a long time when there was no DRS. When the umpire gave him out, he was out.”

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“When you bowl as a batsman, you don’t consider that more than half the ball is hitting the stumps. The umpire’s call is causing more confusion.

“You don’t want some gray areas and factors in the game, which can define big games and tournaments.”