Kohli, Pandya Secure Spots in India’s T20 World Cup Top 10

The Indian team for the Twenty20 World Cup is still far from complete. The position of the opener, the two wicket keepers, the backup spinner, and the middle-order power batter will all be hotly contested points of contention. The team management’s criteria for the West Indies and USA conditions, aside from the IPL and recent international performances, might be a deciding factor in picking the final 15. Nevertheless, the squad will still include the following ten names. They will definitely take the June 2018 flight to the United States.

India’s T20 World Cup team is far from final. A knowledgeable BCCI source has provided news agency PTI with some indications on the names that are locked in.

Hardik Pandya is reportedly wanted to bowl more regularly by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, head coach Rahul Dravid, and captain Rohit Sharma, but the PTI article also stated that there is no imminent uncertainty over his selection. He is still by far the best fast-bowling all-round player in the nation, but the team management will be closely monitoring his bowling in the 2024 Indian Premier League.

Kohli and Hardik are in Squad

Like Hardik, Virat Kohli’s participation is purely ceremonial. India would have the opportunity to play a power hitter in the middle overs if Kohli and Rohit are asked to open in the T20 World Cup, according to a story published in Dainik Jagran on Wednesday. 

As the current IPL 2024 orange cap holder, Kohli has spent the previous several seasons starting for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Opening in T20Is is nothing new to him. In T20Is, he has a respectable opening record. Kohli has scored 400 runs at an average of 57 in the 9 innings he has opened in Twenty20 Internationals, more than his career average of 51. Furthermore, in this format, when Kohli opens the batting, his strike rate rises from 138 to 161. In the Asia Cup 2022, he opened the batting against Afghanistan and scored the highest individual score by an Indian in the shortest format, his lone T20I century.

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The other players who are automatically selected are wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, pacers Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and spinner Kuldeep Yadav; captain Rohit Sharma; top T20 batsman Suryakumar Yadav; pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah; and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. If eligible, these ten names will undoubtedly be on the transatlantic flight. Nine of them are certain to start in the starting lineup. Depending on the circumstances in the USA and the Caribbean, Arshdeep or Siraj might choose to sit out in order to provide the squad with an extra spinner.

It is acknowledged that RCB is giving Siraj a break because he has been playing frequently and needs help managing his workload.

Contender for Wicket- Keeper

Moving on to the remaining positions, where there are several candidates. It is reasonable to say that Pant has locked up the gloveman position with his significant performances for the Delhi Capitals as a batter and keeper. However, because the World Cup is being played away from home, the team management will undoubtedly have a backup keeper on hand.

Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, and Jitesh Sharma are the contenders for it. Of them, Rahul and Kishan have never batted in the middle order during a Twenty20 match. Despite his lacklustre performance in the 2024 Indian Premier League, Jitesh is the perfect match for the post. Despite batting at No. 3 for RR, Samson has middle-order batting experience. 

Of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, and Shivam Dube, only three will be selected for the team. Both Rinku and Dube are probably going to get the nod if Kohli opens.

There is a three-way competition between Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, and Ravi Bishnoi for the backup spinner’s position. Axar has the advantage due to his skill at bat.