With several players showing good form in the lead up to the T20 World Cup, the Indian team management will have a tough task at their hand when picking a best playing XI for the showpiece event. India are in Group A alongside hosts USA, Pakistan, Ireland and Canada.
The Rohit Sharma-led unit will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5.
The selectors have picked two in-form wicketkeeper-batters in Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson for the tournament.
Pant captained Delhi Capitals and finished as their leading run-getter with 446 runs from 14 innings at a strike-rate of 155.40 while batting in the middle-order. This was Pant’s first competitive event after spending 15 months on the sidelines due to a car crash.
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Samson has been having a dream season and so far scored 504 runs from 13 innings at a strike-rate of 156.52.
Legendary India allrounder Yuvraj Singh though thinks it’s Pant who should be part of the eleven.
“I’d probably go for Rishabh. Obviously Sanju is also in great form, but Rishabh (is a) left-hander, and I believe that Rishabh has massive potential to win games for India, which he has done in the past, lot more in Test cricket. And he’s someone who I feel can be a match-winner on the big stage,” Yuvraj told ICC.
The major concern for India though is the form of vice-captain Hardik Pandya who had a below-par season for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024.
However, Yuvraj, who won the inaugural T20 World Cup with India in 2007, is positive that the allrounder will ‘do something special’.
“Well, the good thing is that the selection has been made. (Selectors see) how players have performed at international cricket and then they look at IPL form. Just not the IPL form,” Yuvraj said.
“Because if you look at the IPL form, Hardik’s not done well. Looking at his background for India, what he’s done for India, it is important that he’s in the squad. I think his bowling is going to be important, and his fitness is going to be important. And I think he might do something really special in this World Cup,” he added.
There’s a debate over whom should captain Rohit Sharma be paired to open the innings considering there are two strong candidates in Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Here too, Yuvraj has a clear choice.
“I think Rohit and Jaiswal should definitely open,” Yuvraj said. “Virat has been batting at No.3 and that’s his position. And then you get Surya (Yadav) at four, and then you got a couple of big options. I’d like to see a couple of left-hand, right-hand combinations because it is harder to bowl at two combinations all the time.”
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