KL Rahul to open for India in SA ODIs in Rohit's absence

Paarl, Jan 18:  Stand-in skipper KL Rahul on Tuesday confirmed that he will open the batting for India in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, starting here on Wednesday, in the absence of Rohit Sharma.

The 29-year old has batted for India in a number of different positions in the middle order with Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan opening the batting in the 50-over format. However, he has replaced Dhawan as India's regular opener in T20Is with the latter not being selected in the team for the shortest format of the game.

"The last 14-15 months I have batted at 4, 5, different positions, where the team needed me. With Rohit not being here, I will bat at the top," said Rahul in a pre-match virtual press conference.

"I'm not someone who has a lot of plans and targets. I like to take one game at a time. That's how I've played my cricket and that's how I'll look to lead the team," he added.

With Rahul opening the batting, it will be interesting to see whether India will go for Dhawan or Ruturaj Gaikwad as KL's opening partner in the series.

The star batter, who will also captain the side in the absence of white-ball skipper Rohit, said that he has learnt a lot while playing under great captains like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.

"I have played under great captains like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli and hopefully I will use the learnings when I captain the team. I will make mistakes along the way but I will learn and get better," he said.