One of the major selection headaches for the T20 World Cup will be defining the role of Virat Kohli in the batting line-up. While No. 3 has been his usual spot in the international format, his sublime form in the ongoing IPL 2024 has sparked a possibility of India opening with Kohli in the ICC event. And the fresh new concert has received quite a few backing including the likes of former India captain Sourav Ganguly. However, just days before the squad announcement for the World Cup, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar has been sent a sharp warning of the “biggest challenger in Indian cricket”.

Speaking to Star Sports, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan sparked an old concern about lack of bowling options in the top six, which has troubled the Men in Blue over the last few years. Even in last October, before the start of the ODI World Cup tournament, a similar discussion had taken shape and later discussed again after all-rounder Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the tournament with an injury.

Contrary to the growing popular choice, Pathan backed Yashasvi Jaiswal, who recently struck a century in the IPL 2024 match against Mumbai Indians, as the opener alongside captain Rohit Sharma.

“As far as I'm concerned, Indian openers should be Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, purely because of the right-hand and left-hand combination. Don't forget Yashasvi Jaiswal's international strike rate is 160 and you need that, you need that firepower,” he said.

However, the former T20 World Cup winner did weigh in on the possibility of Kohli opening for India, reckoning that it offers the opportunity for the team to include the likes of power-hitters in Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh.

“If Virat opens up the batting, what happens is that it will allow the combination of 11 to be in a certain way, which you want. If that happens, you might see Shivam Dubey playing, if he's there in the squad. You might see guys like Rinku Singh in the playing 11 as well,” he added.

However, Pathan was quick to point out that if India go ahead with Jaiswal, it would offer the team a possible part-time spinner as he revealed that the Rajasthan Royals batter has been regularly bowling in the nets.

"But if Virat bats at number three, that might not happen. So that's a big challenge. The other thing, if Yashasvi Jaiswal is playing, what can happen as he's actually been bowling regularly in the nets. So what you can do is you can actually play proper five bowlers and maybe have him as a sixth bowler, as an option to keep it. Otherwise, if you look at the batting order, no one bowls. No one bowls in top six and that's the biggest challenge what we have as Indian cricket. And that's what we need to consider that as well. So for me, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma and then Virat bats at number three,” he said.

Kohli's role in the India's team will also hint towards the template that India are looking to set for the World Cup. With the former India captain's improved numbers in the powerplay in IPL 2024, which has in fact been better that Jaiswal, opening with Kohli seems a far more likely option for India as it would allow the team to adapt a more aggressive approach in the format.

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