New Delhi, Sep 13 : On Monday, India announced their squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia which will begin next month.In contrast to last year’s tournament in Oman and the UAE and Oman, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will the captain and coach , respectively.Despite not making the final of Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE India’s team was generally expected to come up with no surprises, large or small.
From the squad that made it to Asia Cup 2022, the speed team of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel return after overcoming injuries and having passed fitness tests.Their return is a huge boost for India especially since the bowling team was not as strong in Asia Cup.
India’s confidence in the young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was evident when he was kept in the squad of 15 players with Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami slotted in as reserve players.
Arshdeep has been a revelation with his yorkers in the dying overs, as evident in IPL as well as in international cricket from his first appearance in July.With Bumrah, Harshal, Arshdeep, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Rohit has a varied pace attack for Mission Australia though they miss the option of a straight-forward pace in someone like Umran Malik.
In terms of the field The top three of Rohit, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will remain with the same lineup as India’s Super 12 exit at the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup.
Since then, much has been written about India adopting a new, aggressive, ultra-attacking batting style.However, the problem is that the team has yet to come together in harmony in T20Is this season.
Suryakumar Yadav, with his 360-degree shots, has the potential to boost the batting pace.There’s also Deepak Hooda who has seized his chance in the Indian jersey in every way he’s gotten them.In addition to his hard-hitting bat, he also provides part-time off-spin options which is vital particularly with Ravindra Jadeja out of action after knee surgery.
However, Hooda is in the race with the ‘keeping duo’ of Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant in the middle order slots, taking into consideration the top four of Rohit, Rahul, Virat and Suryakumar with Pandya being the all-rounder.
Karthik took the first major step towards his goal of winning the T20 World Cup by getting the nod for the team due to the success of his phenomenal finishing abilities in IPL 2022 and in T20Is for India this story is a testament to the power of determination.
Pant On the other on the other hand, has made it to the cut despite having few spectacular performance in the format with him enjoying the advantage of being the sole left-handed batsman in the side , apart of all-rounder Axar Patel, who is a similar replacement for Jadeja who’s dazzling batting and precise left-arm spin bowling, and superb fielding will be badly missed.
Axar is also member of India’s spin troika along with spinners with legs Yuzvendra Chahal as well as off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
The selection of Ashwin meant there was no place of Ravi Bishnoi in the main squad, and he’s positioned in the reserve squad.
The possibility of injury related to Bumrah and Harshal caused Shami is in the reserve team despite having not played any T20I since the last World Cup.
While he has played very little international cricket this season, Shami along with Chahar are in India’s T20I squad playing at home against Australia and South Africa with Arshdeep, Bhuvneshwar and Pandya rotated between these two series to do conditioning exercises at NCA.
Shreyas Iyer’s selection as a stand-by batting player is also a cause for concern, particularly with the issue of his short-ball as well as Australia pitches that are full of bounce and pace with bowlers who tend to strike the deck hard.
It’s even more astonishing because Sanju Samson, who had been supported by Rohit to be an advantage in Australian conditions before the commencement of the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Lucknow this year, isn’t even close to the reserve.
With the team of 15 lacking the factor of surprise, India’s main task is to get the eleven they need in the World Cup.They’ll need to figure the combination that gives them the depth of their batting and also the options for bowling with six options.
Since winning the first Men’s T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, India haven’t been able to win the trophy.
In addition since winning the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, India haven’t been able to win any ICC trophy.When they play in October 2022, India play against Pakistan in their first Super 12 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the goal of having a repeat of 2007 is expected from this fully-strength, not-shocking team.
India has the resources in the bag; now is the time to make the most of it.
India team for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav Deepak Hooda Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh.
Standby players include Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Chahar.
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