Ahead of the first ODI of the three-match series against England in Pune, the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli had confirmed that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will remain India’s first-choice openers in the 50-over format. Virat also asserted that the decision of him opening with Rohit in the fifth and final T20I on Saturday did not necessarily mean that he would open for India regularly across formats.

During the virtual press conference on Monday, Virat said, “As far as the opening combination is concerned, Shikhar (Dhawan) and Rohit (Sharma) will definitely start. They have been amazing for us in the past few years. It’s not a guarantee that this is going to be considered in the future. To open up a slot for Surya (Suryakumar Yadav), who is playing the way he is, I can do anything to do that.”

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Kohli explained that he had decided to open in order to help Suryakumar Yadav, who made his debut in the recently concluded T20I series, bat higher up in the order.

Virat Kohli had recently spoken out against the controversial ‘Umpire’s Call’ in the Decision Review System (DRS) and suggested the possibility of having an “I don’t know” call for the on-field umpire if he isn’t in a position to make a definitive call. The Indian skipper reaffirmed his reservations against ‘Umpire’s Call’ and said there must not be any grey areas in the game that could likely affect results in a big tournament.

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Talking about the same further, Kohli said, “I’ve played for a long time when there was no DRS. When the umpire gave it out, it stayed out. When you get bowled as a batsman, you don’t consider if more than half of the ball is hitting the stumps. Umpire’s Call is creating more confusion. You don’t want some grey areas and factors in the game, which could define big games and tournaments.”