Irfan Pathan made a surprise decision to leave Sanju Samson out as he unveiled his India XI for their first T20 World Cup 2024 match. This encounter will be against Ireland in the Group A stage and will be played at the Nassau County International Cricket Ground in New York.
India hopes to end its 11-year drought for an ICC title at the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
After facing Ireland on June 5, India will play Pakistan on June 9. India’s final two Group A matches are against the United States (June 12) and Canada (June 15). India will qualify for the Super 8s if Rohit’s team finishes in the top two.
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has chosen his best XI for the Men in Blue. According to the former cricketer named Player of the Match in the 2007 T20 World Cup final, India should start Yashasvi Jaiswal as an opener.
Pathan believes several teams have left-arm spinners who can be effective in the first few overs if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli open the innings. He wants India to prevent that by pairing Jaiswal with Rohit and believes the 22-year-old left-handed batter can steal the game from the opponent.
Speaking on the ESPNcricinfo show, Pathan said, “Why I kept Yashasvi Jaiswal there (as the opener) is purely because I see a lot of teams have left-arm spinners. And we know that against Rohit and Virat, if they open, there will be a time when a lot of teams will use a left-arm spinner at the start, in the powerplay, and that can happen, so I want to avoid that.
I want Yashasvi to be in form. I want Yashasvi’s left-handedness to be used for India, and he can take the game away. If he is on song, he can actually take the game away. That’s why Rohit open, Yashasvi Jaiswal open, and Virat Kohli at No. 3. Lot of people talk about Virat Kohli’s strike rate, but I think he is a match-winner. He thinks about winning the games.”
Irfan Pathan also spoke about the middle order and his wicketkeeping choice as well.
I want Rishabh Pant to start over Sanju Samson: Irfan Pathan
Pathan preferred Rishabh Pant to Sanju Samson as wicketkeeper-batsman in his best XI, which also included Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube.
“No. 4 Suryakumar Yadav. I want Rishabh Pant to start. The games in the afternoon will have something for the bowlers, and those half bowlers (like Shivam Dube) actually become full ones, especially when you have something in the pitches. If you have flat pitches, you require a fifth proper bowler. But in pitches that have a slight grip, even guys like Shivam Dube can actually use those slow into the cutters and become very useful bowlers.
So, let’s have a strong batting line-up where Ravindra Jadeja bats at No. 8, not No. 7, because for me in many years of playing for Team India, Ravindra Jadeja batting at No. 7 hasn’t won the game for Team India. So, this is why I want him to be there as a bowler, as a solid fielder, and as a No. 8 batter,” he added.
Irfan Pathan’s best India XI for T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh
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