Virat Kohli should open as former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja revealed his preferred batting order for Men in Blue in the T20 World Cup 2024 tournament. Jadeja also spoke about where Rohit Sharma should bat for the betterment of the team.
The T20 World Cup 2024 will be played in the USA and the West Indies from June 1-29. 2007 T20 World Cup champions India have been placed in Group A with Ireland, hosts USA, Canada, and arch-rivals Pakistan.
India will play their opening match against Ireland on June 5, and will then face Pakistan on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
On April 30, the BCCI selection panel picked the Indian squad for the ICC event, with the final 15 players chosen for the tournament. The squad featured Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal as top-order batting options.
It is a given that Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal will open for India, while Virat Kohli will come in at no.3 spot. However, former India captain Jadeja feels that India captain Rohit Sharma needs to push himself to the number three spot and elevate Virat Kohli to the opening slot.
“For me, Virat Kohli opens. Who goes back? Rohit Sharma bats at three. He gets a little cushion and gets to understand the game, he has so much going on, in his mind as a captain. If you have Virat in your side, you know consistency is the one thing you will get, so, might as well use him. He’s best at the top and the powerplay allows him to settle in,” Ajay Jadeja said on JioCinema.
“He’s a special player, a rare commodity” – Ajay Jadeja on Hardik Pandya
Meanwhile, much has been said about Hardik Pandya being selected for the Indian squad and even being named vice-captain of the side. Pandya made his return from injury just before the IPL and he is currently leading Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024.
However, he has not been in form with the bat or the ball, taking 6 wickets and scoring 190-odd runs with the bat. As captain, he has not been able to motivate the MI side, who are 9th on the points table with 7 losses in 10 matches.
However, Ajay Jadeja supported the inclusion of a currently off-color Hardik Pandya in the team, calling him special.
- “The spotlight is on him for obvious reasons. He’s a special player, a rare commodity you find in our country where somebody bowls seam-up and can make it to the side with his batting. The selection has not been on form, there’s no doubt about it. It depends on how you want to play. It’s one of the things I look at this team and think they don’t have many options.
- You have established players in the side, everybody is so solid with the numbers that they play at, and what stage they play. It will all depend on what Rohit thinks,” Jadeja said.
Also Read: ‘It’s A Tricky Question’- Sanju Samson On His Potential No. 5 Batting Spot In T20 World Cup 2024