T20 World Cup 2022: "They will start off with KL Rahul but with concerns" - Sanjay Manjrekar on whether he sees India's vice-captain opening the batting

Sanjay Manjrekar feels India will persist with KL Rahul as an opener in the T20 World Cup 2022 despite a few concerns about his form.

Rahul aggregated 132 runs at a slightly below-par average of 26.40 in the five innings he played in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022. The Indian vice-captain is, however, expected to open the batting with Rohit Sharma in the global T20 tournament to be played in Australia later this year.

During an interaction on the Sports 18 show 'Sports Over the Top', Manjrekar was asked if he sees KL Rahul playing as an opener in the World Cup based on his current form. He replied:

"Yes, India will have to back him because of the kind of potential that he has. His international T20 record is fantastic. So, they will start off with KL Rahul but with concerns."

Manjrekar added that apart from Rahul, the team management would be slightly worried about the form of a few other players as well. The former India batter elaborated:

"There are a couple of people they will be concerned about, their form, there is Rishabh Pant as well, bowling wise as well. Coming close to the T20 World Cup few players have just gone off the boil. So I think they will keep a watch on those players for at least the first couple of matches."

Rahul was out of sorts in the ODI series against Zimbabwe after returning from a long layoff. The Karnataka opener made a poor start to the Asia Cup as well but seemed to be regaining his touch as the tournament progressed.

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"You can't leave Rishabh Pant out of a T20 World Cup squad" - Sanjay Manjrekar

Rishabh Pant did not play a substantial knock in the Asia Cup 2022.

Manjrekar was further asked about his views on Rishabh Pant's inclusion in India's squad. He responded:

"He had to be in the squad. I know in white-ball cricket he has not really made the kind of impact that we have seen in Test matches but you can't leave (Rishabh) Pant out of a T20 World Cup squad."

Manjrekar highlighted that the dashing wicketkeeper-batter can play match-defining knocks in crunch games. The cricketer-turned-analyst said:

"Let's hope he gets his mojo back quickly because this is a guy, when it's his night, he can win you a semi-final of a T20 World Cup on his own. He loves the big stage, he has this knack of playing great innings, so that's the reason Rishabh Pant is there."

Pant will likely compete with Dinesh Karthik for the wicketkeeper-batter's position in India's XI. The youngster might just pip the veteran, considering he is the only left-hander in India's probable top six.