NEW DELHI: As the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup begins, India captain Rohit Sharma has not yet finalized the team's playing XI, even after their dominant win in the warm-up match against Bangladesh. One clear indicator from Saturday's fixture is that Yashasvi Jaiswal will likely not feature in the lineup for the campaign opener against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
Despite discussions about the need for a left-right combination at the top of the batting order, Jaiswal was overlooked in favor of Sanju Samson. This decision indicates that Virat Kohli, who missed the warm-up match due to a late arrival in New York, will open the batting with Rohit Sharma.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has consistently opposed the move of Kohli opening with Rohit in the World Cup, despite Kohli's stellar performance in IPL 2024.
Speaking on Star Sports, Pathan emphasized that Jaiswal should not be dropped from the playing XI, citing India's need for more bowling options.
"With the selected team, there can be two combinations. In one combination, you can play with six bowlers, including Axar Patel, to deepen the batting lineup. In the other combination, you can play with four front-line bowlers and expect Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya to bowl. Another option for Team India is a young player who bowls in the nets but hasn't bowled in matches, Yashasvi Jaiswal. Shivam Dube also mentioned during the IPL that he has been regularly bowling in the nets, preparing to bowl one or two overs in the World Cup," Pathan explained.
Pathan further highlighted the importance of Hardik Pandya's contribution as a bowler.
"If Hardik can give you the option of bowling three to four overs, this problem will be largely solved. Our other batsmen, like Rohit, Virat, or Suryakumar Yadav, can't bowl, which makes us somewhat handicapped. Ideally, if any of these players could bowl, it would greatly benefit the team," Pathan said.
"We talk about Australia, but even England has many all-rounders among their top seven players, including Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, and Will Jacks. It’s always better to have more bowling options, and yes, in this scenario, we are definitely handicapped," Pathan added.
As India prepares to face Ireland, the debate over the ideal playing XI and the team's bowling strategy continues. Fans and experts alike are eager to see how India will address these challenges in their quest to end the ICC trophy drought and clinch the T20 World Cup title.
