Rahul, who has been in good form of late, came up with a match-winning 52-ball 80 in the second ODI in Rajkot against Australia, in a game where he was also the designated wicketkeeper in Pant’s absence, Cricbuzz reports.
His versatility in the batting order has earned high praise from Kohli who is now keen on continuing with this combination in NZ as well later this week.
“Rahul really brings in a good balance to keep that well and bat that well in that position,” Kohli said after India’s series win on Sunday.
“It’s just that he’s come into that slot and has done well. We’ll have to persist with that a little bit and see where that takes us and not necessarily be confused about the other options that we have. I think lack of clarity in terms of positions in the past has really hurt us.
“Now that we understand that this team is right, we’re going to go ahead with that for a while and figure out whether this is the right team or not. We can’t chop and change immediately and create confusion within the group. We’re playing well. Two wins back to back. I don’t see any reason why we should change this balance as it has done well.”