Going into the mega-event, India has plenty of choices to choose from about right-handed batters while Sachin Tendulkar didn’t want to comment on team combinations, he does believe that a left-hander in the batting line-up gives the kind of variety every team craves.
The T20 World Cup will be played in Australia and the tournament’s high-octane clash between Pakistan and India will be played on October 23 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The fans are eagerly waiting for the clash while all eyes will be on Babar Azam and Virat Kohli’s form.
The edition presents the Rohit Sharma-drove side yet another chance to end a nine-year-old dry season for India to bring home an ICC championship. Going into the mega-event, India has plenty of choices to choose about right-handed batters.
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Dinesh Karthik might well frame the top six. India has a solitary expert left-handed batter in Rishabh Pant, and whether he makes it to the XI or not is the big question.
While Sachin Tendulkar didn’t want to comment on team combinations, he does believe that a left-hander in the batting line-up gives the kind of variety every team craves.
“Left-handers without any doubt add in value and bowlers have to adjust, fielders have to adjust, and if they can rotate strike consistently, it is not something that the bowler enjoys,”
Tendulkar told news agency PTI.
“Look, I wouldn’t go by just (top) three. You always play as a unit and one should see what works well. You can’t go by the top two or the top three. As a unit, what you have is important and then to figure out whom to send at what position, and also check what is the opposition’s strength.”
In the recent Asia Cup, India couldn’t perform well and Pakistan beat the India in the super 4 clash. Now, both teams will again meet on October 23 at MCG.
India Squad for World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami.
Standby Players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur.
Pakistan Squad for World Cup: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood.
Standby Players: Usman Qadir, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.