Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has made a bold claim that Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul should be India’s first-choice openers in the Indian team. Stating that there are several options on the Indian team to fall back on Uthappa said that, if need be, Rishabh Pant can do the job up top, but for the moment, Rohit and Rahul should continue to open for the Indian side.

During a recent chat with freelance journalist Vimal Kumar, Robin Uthappa said, “KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma should be the first-choice opening pair, no doubt. If there are any fitness or injury concerns, then Pant can also do the job at the top of the order. There are way too many options, and there is too much flexibility. Everyone can open the innings and there is too much competition in this country that players are ready to play anywhere in the playing XI.”

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Talking about the evolution of the T20 game, Robin Uthappa said that even Rohit Sharma has started playing unorthodox shots in recent times.

Robin Uthappa explained, “Even Rohit Sharma has started to play the unorthodox shots. The evolution might not be enjoyed by traditional viewers, but it is highly enjoyable for contemporary viewers. The style has changed a lot since my days, the game has evolved quite a lot. The game has gone through an evolution, especially in the last seven years.”

He further explained, “I feel that the game has evolved so much and so fast since 2015. Now each and every player is a 360-degree player, any player can bat like de Villiers now.”

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The Indian opening pair has been out of form for a while now and have not been able to perform as per expectations in the Asia Cup. Against Hong Kong, KL Rahul hit 36 runs off 39 balls before getting out. The Indian innings was rescued by a 98* run partnership from Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav, where the latter hit 68* off just 26 balls.