Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad to Ishan Kishan; Dinesh Karthik Names 4 Players Who Can be India’s Third Opener For Next T20 World Cup

Ind vs NZ 2021: Karthik reckoned that Rohit and Rahul should be opening in Australia - where the next T20 WC will be played.

Ranchi: India openers – Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul – once again showed why they are considered as the best openers in T20I cricket today. On Friday, the duo played some sublime cricket against New Zealand in the second T20I at Ranchi. With not much time left for the next T20 World Cup, senior India cricketer Dinesh Karthik reckoned that Rohit and Rahul should be opening in Australia – where the next T20 WC will be played.

“In my mind there is no doubt that Rohit and Rahul are the first choice openers. What they need to find out is, if one of them is injured for the World Cup, then who is going to be their third opener who can fill in. I don’t think we need more than 3 openers in the squad,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

Karthik believes all India needs is the third opener as a backup for Rohit and Rahul. The ex-KKR captain picked four players who could be the third opener for India. The four names include Shikhar Dhawan, Venkatesh Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Ishan Kishan.

He added: “Are you going to look towards a left-hander like Ishan Kishan, Venkatesh Iyer, or Shikhar Dhawan or someone like Ruturaj Gaikwad. One of them should definitely be given a break in the next game and the team should look into their third opener.”

Newlook India has taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and now it would be interesting to see if Rahul Dravid and Co incorporate changes for the final T20I with the series in the bag.