Virat Kohli to open, Rohit Sharma at....: Matthew Hayden suggests Indian batting lineup for T20 World Cup 2024

As India’s first match of the league stage in the T20 World Cup 2024 against Ireland approaches, several experts have presented their opinions about the team combination. The focus has mostly been on big guns Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and the position they should bat at in the event.

Different people have analysed the squad and given varied solutions on the batting numbers of the main batters of India. Among the many experts is former Australian player Matthew Hayden, who devised a unique idea regarding the batting order.'

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Talking on ESPNcricinfo, Hayden exclaimed Virat Kohli should open the innings, and India must have the LHB-RHB combination at the top. He discussed the recent form of Kohli and the drawbacks of opening with Virat and Rohit in a T20 game.

"You have to have a left-right combination. You can't have five right-handers in a row. Australia would just say hello to Zampa. Kohli has to open, or he does not play in my team. He is in absolute red-hot form.”

Rohit can lead the batting group from the early middle order: Matthew Hayden

Talking about the batting position of the Indian captain Rohit Sharma, Hayden opinionated he should be slotted in the middle order and bat at No.4. To back his take, Hayden pointed out the versatility of Rohit Sharma and his previous experience batting at this position.

“Rohit is a versatile player and does not shy away from batting away in that middle order. He has a successful record in T20I cricket batting at No. 4, and he can lead the batting group from the early middle order.”

While Matthew Hayden has made a valid point, Rohit is unlikely to demote himself in the batting order. He has batted in the middle order previously but has been opening for a while now in every format.

Further, Rohit wouldn’t take such a massive step in a tournament like the T20 World Cup, for such moves can backfire. Indeed, if he wanted to test himself as a No.4 batter, Rohit should have experimented against Afghanistan earlier in the year and IPL.

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