'Mai kya khud baith jau': KL Rahul when asked if Virat Kohli should open for India in T20I

After nearly three years Virat Kohli was seen back in his usual form as he went on to smash his 71st international century - 1st in T20I - against Afghanistan in their final Super 4 game of the Asia Cup 2022.

While India did not make it to the final of the tournament, Indian fans were still happy seeing 'King' Kohli back in form.

Coming in to open with skipper KL Rahul in the absence of Rohit Sharma, Kohli went on to smash from ball one and played an unbeaten knock of 122 runs off just 61 balls.

Rahul and Kohli also shared a 119-run opening stand, in which also the Karanatak-batter scored 62 runs off 41 balls.

Later India went on to defeat Afghanistan by 101 runs as pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar took five wickets with the ball.

Soon after the match, during a press conference, KL Rahul was asked by a journalist if Kohli should keep opening for India in the T20Is.

To this question, Rahul replied: "Toh kya mai khud beth jaun? (So what? Should I sit out?)"

Rahul added that it was important for the team that Kohli find his touch and that he can score runs from the No.3 spot as well.

"Obviously, Virat scoring runs is a huge bonus for the team, and the way he played today against Afghanistan, I know he is very very pleased with how he batted today. He has been working on his game and that worked beautifully today. As a team, it is important for every player to get time out in the middle," Rahul said.

"You get confidence if you play 2-3 innings, really happy that he could play that way. You all know Virat Kohli, you have been watching him for so many years, it is not like he will only score centuries if he opens the batting, if he bats at No.3, he can then also score centuries. It is all about roles and what role a certain player has," he added.

"The role Virat had today, he played it beautifully. In the next series we play, his role would be different," he added.

Kohli as an opening batter has taken on the role even for his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Kohli has five centuries in the IPL, and all of them came while opening the batting for RCB.