‘Virat Kohli has earned the right to bat wherever he wants’: Finch, Paine debate over Kohli’s position at T20 World Cup.

Former Australia cricketers Aaron Finch and Tim Paine discusses where Virat Kohli is best suited to bat for India at the T20 World Cup. If there is one debate bigger than Virat Kohli’s strike-rate in the IPL 2024, it’s where he is going to bat for India at the T20 World Cup. Would Kohli open or stick to his position at No. 3… that’s the big question surrounding Indian cricket at the moment. The decision-makers, captain Rohit Sharma, coach Rahul Dravid and Kohli himself may have made up their mind, but until Rohit addresses the same ahead of India’s pre-match press conference against Ireland, the suspense factor will linger on. Experts continue to have their say. Sourav Ganguly wants Kohli to open, whereas Suresh Raina wants him to stick to No. 3. But that’s not it. The mystery hovering over Kohli’s batting position has crossed shores and reached Australia, where Aaron Finch and one of Virat’s fiercest rivals as captain, Tim Paine, debated over where Kohli should bat for India once the Men in Blue begin their T20 World Cup campaign. Starting off, Paine echoed the sentiments of Ganguly and many more who feel Kohli is best suited as opener, and that had he been part of the management, he would have made the call by now. “I certainly would [have Kohli open]. I think Virat Kohli has earned the right to bat wherever he wants, particularly when he’s in this kind of form. Virat is an experienced player and I’m sure they will be having conversations but whether he bats one, two or three will worry him too much. Having said that if I was the selection or coach in that team, I would want my best player, the best player in red-hot form, I would want him facing as many balls as possible so I’ll try and slot him back at the top,” Paine said on the ‘Around the Wicket’ podcast.