India's Next Mission: World T20 World Cup
India recently beat West Indies in the t20i series 3-0.
After an emotional exit from the World Cup semi-finals, Virat Kohli urges the team and the fans to move on. Kohli has made it very clear that his next objective is the WT20 in 2020. The preparations have already begun with youngsters being tried out in the ongoing series against West Indies. With the likes of Bumrah, Shami, Bhuvi, Chahal, Kuldeep, and Hardik, the bowling looks more or less sorted. They even have strong reserve players in speedster Navdeep Saini and the wicket-taking Khaleel Ahmed. It is the batting order corundum they would like to resolve. In today's blog, I will give my opinion on who should be given the opportunity to don the Indian colours in the upcoming Wt20.
India's top 3 remain to be a vital cog to India's success.
Top-order - India posses two visible threat to any opposition in the tournament. First would be their bowling and the second would be their top 3 batsmen. All three (Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli) need no introduction. All three have won many games for India and will continue to win more games. Although Shikhar Dhawan's form has taken a recent dip, I am pretty sure he will step up his game in the ICC tournament. If any of three faces an injury scare then, KL Rahul will serve as the backup. His numbers too are outstanding. He has an astonishing average of 44 with an aggregate of 149. Those are numbers any T20 batsman would enjoy.
Manish Pandey has been in some scintillating form, and he can solve India's middle-order woes.
Middle-order - The only glaring loophole in the Indian lineup is probably the middle order. Number 4 and 5 remains a problem for India. I would like to see Rishabh Pant batting at number 4 in the World T20. His counterattacking style of cricket separates him from other players like Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer. On his day, he has the potential to change the complexion of the game. Then, at number 5, a genuine batsman should bat. In my opinion, Manish Pandey should be given an opportunity at number 5. He is a very versatile player: can serve as an innings builder as well as an aggressor. However, if MS Dhoni decides to play the Wt20 2020, then, he should automatically be placed at the number 5 spot. His ability to finish games and his quick glovework can prove to be a big plus point.
The Pandya Bros together can serve as a perfect balance for this Indian team.
Lower Middle Order - India has two options at number 6 and 7. Firstly, if MS decides not to play, then Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya can bat at these two positions. The second option they have is to play the Pandya brothers. I feel the Pandya brothers should play. If Krunal plays, then he also serves as a 6th bowling option compared to Dinesh Karthik cannot bowl. Krunal is also more than a handy batsman and along with his brother can tonk the ball to all parts of the ground in the death overs.
Jasprit Bumrah would like to continue his dominance in the limited-overs format.
The bowling department- This is probably the least debatable topic. All six bowlers have nothing wrong not to be included in the squad. It will be the same bowling attack like the one in the World Cup 2019. It will consist of Jasprit Bumrah (the leader of the pack), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravindra Jadeja. This bowling unit was by far the best in the entire tournament and was the main reason why India reached the semi-finals very easily and topped the points table.
My Starting XI - Rohit Sharma(vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(wk), MS Dhoni(wk)/Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
After an emotional exit from the World Cup semi-finals, Virat Kohli urges the team and the fans to move on. Kohli has made it very clear that his next objective is the WT20 in 2020. The preparations have already begun with youngsters being tried out in the ongoing series against West Indies. With the likes of Bumrah, Shami, Bhuvi, Chahal, Kuldeep, and Hardik, the bowling looks more or less sorted. They even have strong reserve players in speedster Navdeep Saini and the wicket-taking Khaleel Ahmed. It is the batting order corundum they would like to resolve. In today's blog, I will give my opinion on who should be given the opportunity to don the Indian colours in the upcoming Wt20.
India's top 3 remain to be a vital cog to India's success.
Top-order - India posses two visible threat to any opposition in the tournament. First would be their bowling and the second would be their top 3 batsmen. All three (Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli) need no introduction. All three have won many games for India and will continue to win more games. Although Shikhar Dhawan's form has taken a recent dip, I am pretty sure he will step up his game in the ICC tournament. If any of three faces an injury scare then, KL Rahul will serve as the backup. His numbers too are outstanding. He has an astonishing average of 44 with an aggregate of 149. Those are numbers any T20 batsman would enjoy.
Manish Pandey has been in some scintillating form, and he can solve India's middle-order woes.
Middle-order - The only glaring loophole in the Indian lineup is probably the middle order. Number 4 and 5 remains a problem for India. I would like to see Rishabh Pant batting at number 4 in the World T20. His counterattacking style of cricket separates him from other players like Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer. On his day, he has the potential to change the complexion of the game. Then, at number 5, a genuine batsman should bat. In my opinion, Manish Pandey should be given an opportunity at number 5. He is a very versatile player: can serve as an innings builder as well as an aggressor. However, if MS Dhoni decides to play the Wt20 2020, then, he should automatically be placed at the number 5 spot. His ability to finish games and his quick glovework can prove to be a big plus point.
Lower Middle Order - India has two options at number 6 and 7. Firstly, if MS decides not to play, then Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya can bat at these two positions. The second option they have is to play the Pandya brothers. I feel the Pandya brothers should play. If Krunal plays, then he also serves as a 6th bowling option compared to Dinesh Karthik cannot bowl. Krunal is also more than a handy batsman and along with his brother can tonk the ball to all parts of the ground in the death overs.
The bowling department- This is probably the least debatable topic. All six bowlers have nothing wrong not to be included in the squad. It will be the same bowling attack like the one in the World Cup 2019. It will consist of Jasprit Bumrah (the leader of the pack), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravindra Jadeja. This bowling unit was by far the best in the entire tournament and was the main reason why India reached the semi-finals very easily and topped the points table.
My T20 Squad of 15 - Virat Kohli(C), Rohit Sharma(VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant(wk), Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik(wk)/MS Dhoni(wk), Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Excellent blog, very informative, and a very interesting opinion
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