Cricket News: Alternative for every batting position for team India. Who will get a nod for Asia/WC?
The fifteenth edition of the Asia Cup will be played in the UAE among six teams. Defending champions India have been one of the most successful teams clinching the title seven times. While the last edition was played in the 50-over format, this edition will be featured in the 20-over format
Virat Kohli will likely occupy the third spotIndia has announced its 15-member squad for the tournament with Rohit Sharma as captain and KL Rahul as his deputy. The squad announcement highlighted the bench strength that the Indian team carries with so many good batting order combinations possible.
So here, we will look at the possible position for players and their respective alternative options in the squad.
Opening
While Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will be the most loved opening duo in the shortest format of the game, it is unlikely that KL Rahul will open as he has been out of action for 2.5 months since the game.
In this situation, the other preferred opening pair for team India would be skippers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
One down
If KL Rahul opens along with Rohit Sharma, then Virat Kohli will likely occupy the third spot. Though he has not been able to perform well with the bat, and even his stats in UAE are not very impressive, this will be a massive opportunity to prove he still has cricket left in him.
Apart from him, Deepak Hooda can be a great alternative. He has terrific figures playing at number 3 in international cricket and plays very attacking, which fits India’s philosophy.
Middle-order
Once a weakness for India, now India heavily relies on its middle order. Suryakumar Yadav has proved his stint to play shots with utmost audacity and consistency at various moments. He is best for the spot with a strike rate of 175.46 in T20Is. However, if KL Rahul doesn’t open the inning, he might end up occupying this spot as he also has successful numbers.
Number 5 looks to be fixed for wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant with no other best-fit alternative. Neither does Rishabh Pant slot in at another place down or up the order.
Finishers
The role of finishers for Men in Blue has been certain from the time of IPL 2022. Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, followed by Ravindra Jadeja, or Ravichandran Ashwin, will take up place till eight. Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik are indispensable parts of the team because they can accelerate the inning in the end or even take care of the fragile top-order.
For World Cup 2022
As confirmed by skipper Rohit Sharma, the squad for World Cup 2022 is likely to be 80-90% the same.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said, “As of now, we have been playing in India and will play in UAE, so the conditions in Australia will be different. We need to check what suits our team in Australia.”
Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel’s return could bring in the potential change in the pace-attack of team India. If both of them fail to recover, we might see the return of Mohammed Shami, who was neglected in T20Is following the T20 World Cup 2021.
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