Asia Cup: KL Rahul gives cheeky reply to claims that Virat Kohli should become India's opener

The defending champions were already eliminated following their opponents' loss to Pakistan on Wednesday (September 7) and India went into the dead rubber match without any pressure. Kohli opened alongside Rahul, having returned after a mental health break, he showed glimpses of returning to form in the continental tournament.

He wrapped up his foray into the competition with a brilliant 71st international hundred, his maiden T20I century. His century came in 53 balls as Kohli went on to remain unbeaten on 122 runs This was also the highest individual runs registered by an Indian batter in the shortest format.

Kohli is also now the second Indian player after Rohit Sharma to hit a hundred T20I sixes and the second player to cross the 3500-run mark after Rohit.

When asked whether Kohli should become India's permanent opener, stand-in skipper KL Rahul gave a cheeky reply, saying, "So, what do you want me to do- sit out?"

"Virat scoring runs is a huge bonus for us," he continued in the post-match press conference.

"He must be pleased with his batting. He has been working on his game for the last 2-3 series and it has come off beautifully. If you play 2-3 innings like this, you get confidence. Happy he could play that way. It is not like he can hit hundreds only when he is opening. If he can bat at number three then also he can score centuries and it is about the role the team wants him to play. Today he played his role beautifully," Rahul said.

"The desire and passion for winning matches for his country have always remained the same for him. But, we are obsessed with numbers. His contributions over the last 2-3 years are still phenomenal. He is still among the top two or three run-getters in white-ball cricket."

India have wrapped their Asia Cup campaign having beaten Afghanistan by 101 runs.