Opened to fit in players like Surya but no guarantee that Rohit and I will open: Kohli

Pune: India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday said he has decided to open in the shortest format to accommodate players like Suryakumar Yadav in the side but there is no "guarantee" of him taking up the role in the T20 World Cup at home later this year.

The move to open with Rohit Sharma worked wonders as the star duo played match-winning knocks to seal the five-match series against England. Kohli made the decision to ensure that Suryakumar plays at his preferred number three spot.

Ahead of the first ODI against England, Kohli explained his surprising call in the fifth T20 and why he will open in the IPL, a move that attracted a lot of attention.

"Firstly, the combination that plays on the field, selectors don't have any role to play in that, just how the team management doesn't have any role in selection," said Kohli.

"Secondly, as Rohit mentioned, it was a strategic move but yes we did enjoy batting with each other, we did enjoy that partnership and we saw the effects of us batting together...

"...it's not a guarantee that this is going to be continued in future." Suryakumar had Kohli "stunned" with his knock in his debut game and the India skipper moved up a spot in the batting order to keep the Mumbai batsman in the eleven in the following match. India had replaced opener K L Rahul for an extra bowling option in T Natarajan.

"I have batted at four, I have batted at three. Now I want to go back into, you know, understanding my role as an opener as well which I've done successfully in the past in T20 cricket.

"So that I provide an option to open up a slot for someone like Surya who's playing the way he is at the moment and and if he can continue like that I should be ready to play any kind of role that team requires.

"We will have a conversation about this closer to the World Cup when we get there," he clarified. Senior opener Shikar Dhawan has lost his place in the T20 eleven but Kohli made it clear that he will open with Rohit in the first ODI on Tuesday.