3 players who can bat at No. 3 for India vs Afghanistan ft. Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma is all set to lead India in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, as announced by the BCCI on Sunday (January 7). This marks the return of Rohit to the shortest format, along with Virat Kohli, both of whom last featured in the T20 World Cup semifinal against England at the Adelaide Oval in 2022.
Notably, Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson have been chosen as the two wicketkeeping options for this series, which serves as India's final T20I series before the 2024 World Cup.
With Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav recovering from injuries, several key players such as Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj have not been included in the squad for the series.
Here we take a look at three players who can bat at No. 3 for India vs Afghanistan:
#3 Shubman Gill
With Rohit Sharma making a comeback, he could walk out to open the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. The left-hander Jaiswal has shown plenty of promise and intent in his brief T20 international career so far and India would love to have a left-hander at the top of the order.
This leaves Shubman Gill, who was in smashing form in the last IPL, to take up the number 3 spot. He redefined his power-hitting in the first six overs for the Gujarat Titans and the pitches back home will suit his strokeplay. With enough muscle to follow the top 3, Gill can really grab this opportunity to make this number 3 spot his own.
#2 Tilak Varma
Tilak Varma, who entered the international scene earlier this year, reached the 2,000-run milestone in the 20-over format after 66 innings across 68 matches in South Africa last month. Sporting an impressive average exceeding 40, he maintains a striking rate surpassing 140. His notable record also boasts 14 instances of scores exceeding 50, with the collection featuring a century.
Varma can be the perfect number 3 for India if they really want to take down bowlers in the first six overs. There were instances in South Africa, when he struggled, but he showed good temperament to dig in and look for boundaries. If Rohit does decide to lay down the marker, Varma can also be a good anchor in the middle overs.
#1 Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli played arguably one of the greatest innings against Pakistan in the last T20 World Cup and he now makes a comeback to the format after that particular edition. He will walk out at number 3, but his approach against the spinners will be under the scanner.
For some strange reason, the 35-year-old has not looked to attack the slower bowlers in the IPL – he played an attacking shot in one out of eight balls in the middle overs in the IPL 2022 with a strike rate of 105. This has to improve and Kohli, for all his game awareness, could really go after the bowlers in the first six – especially if spinners try to stifle him.
He played a very different role in the 50-overs World Cup, but in T20Is, India have plenty of muscle and the top order needs to flatten bowling attacks or get out of the way.