Virat Kohli opening does not send any signal that KL Rahul will not be considered in T20Is: Rohit Sharma

India vs England: Rohit Sharma said the decision to drop KL Rahul from the playing XI in the 5th T20I and bring Virat Kohli up the order to open against England was a "tactical move".

Team India vice-captain Rohit Sharma made it clear on Saturday that Virat Kohli opening the innings in the 5th T20I against England was a one-off decision as they wanted to play an extra bowler and therefore, had to drop out-of-form KL Rahul from their final XI. Kohli promoted himself up the order and top-scored with 80 not out to help India post 224 for 2 after England won the toss and opted to field. The skipper and his deputy Rohit laid the foundation for the score with an opening partnership worth 94 runs in just 9 overs. The batting performance was backed up by the bowlers with Shardul Thakur (3 for 45) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2 for 15) playing the starring roles to help India restrict England to 188 for 8 and win the series-decider by 36 runs.