Rohit will not open the innings in Tests, says Kohli

INDIA SKIPPER Virat Kohli has confirmed that opener KL Rahul will miss the first Test against Sri Lanka due to high fever and has reckoned that his absence should be seen by other players as an opportunity to step up.

Speaking ahead of the first Test at Galle on July 26, Kohli said,

“Rahul is unfortunately down with fever. Luckily, it is not anything serious. So he will get back in a few days. KL is a very established player for us, a very solid player. These kinds of scenarios present other players in the team with an opportunity to step up.” 

Kohli also mentioned that Hardik Pandya has a good chance of making his Test debut.

“We got a guy like Hardik Pandya, who has a knack of picking wickets. He has a great chance of playing as well. That gives us the balance. The extra batsman gave us more solidarity. We have taken learnings from that and we will surely apply that straightaway into the series. It is very important to have your strike bowlers to be able to pick up wickets.”

When asked whether Rohit Sharma, who is making a comeback after a long break, could be seen opening the innings, Kohli said that the team is unlikely to do such experiments with the Maharashtra-lad.

“Rohit has never opened in a Test cricket and we don’t see that kind of experiment happening here because we have specialist openers in the team and they will obviously be starting this game.”

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