As Gautam Gambhir gears up to make his debut as India head coach in the first T20I against Sri Lanka, former India batter Wasim Jaffer has shared his playing XI choices for the game on social media. Jaffer – who has been rumoured to become the new head coach of IPL franchise Punjab Kings – made some hot selections. Jaffer left out some big names in the form of Sanju Samson and the in-form Washington Sundar, instead choosing T20 World Cup stars Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel.

If Gambhir and the Team India management were to think the same as Jaffer, it would mean that Samson would miss out yet again, despite his fine form in IPL 2024. Having not played a single game in India’s victorious T20 World Cup 2024, Samson could be set to play second-fiddle to Pant again.

Samson had piled up 531 runs in IPL 2024, 85 more than Pant. Jaffer also left out Samson’s Rajasthan Royals teammate Riyan Parag from his XI.

My playing XI for first T20I:

Gill

Jaiswal

Pant (WK)

SKY (C)

Dube

Hardik

Rinku

Axar

Bishnoi

Arshdeep

Siraj

What’s yours? #SLvIND

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 27, 2024

Jaffer went with an opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and vice-captain Shubman Gill, followed by Pant, new India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh.

With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retiring from T20Is after the T20 World Cup, Gill is expected to become a feature in the side. Rinku Singh, who narrowly missed the cut from the World Cup squad, also finds a spot.

Jafar went with Axar Patel at the no. 8 spot, ahead of Zimbabwe tour ‘Player of the Series’ Washington Sundar. Washington had picked up eight wickets in five games against Zimbabwe, at a miserly economy of 5.16. Ravi Bishnoi was his selection for the specialist spinner.

Finally, Jaffer picked two frontline seamers in the form of Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj.

Wasim Jaffer’s playing XI: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.

Mohammed Siraj returned to Hyderabad on Friday© AFP

Jasprit Bumrah in action© X (Twitter)

Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels that India should strive to find the right balance in playing XI according to the conditions that would help them clinch victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup. During the group stage in the United States, India decided to go for three frontline pacers and two spinners. But in the Super 8 stage against Afghanistan, Mohammed Siraj was dropped for Kuldeep Yadav to provide the service of an additional spinner. Hardik Pandya featured as the third pacer, while Shivam Dube provided another seamer option.

Manjrekar evaluated India’s playing options, which feature a wide variety of players and feels that the team should go for the winning combination according to the surface.

“I think it’s always nice to have many options, and that’s just, I think is the foremost for any team management when there are exciting options to choose from. So I don’t think that is such an issue, but they must remain true to what would be the best playing 11 to get India to win in certain conditions,” Manjrekar said on ‘Caught & Bold’ on Disney Hotstar.

India enjoyed a flawless run in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Featuring in Group A, they defeated Ireland, Pakistan and the co-hosts, the USA, to qualify for the Super 8.

Their final group stage game against Canada was washed away in Florida, and the Rohit-led side finished at the top of the group with seven points.

India played their first Super 8 game against Afghanistan on Thursday by 47 runs. Suryakumar Yadav starred with the bat and scored 53 runs in 28 balls at a whopping strike rate of 189.29.

India will look to maintain their unbeaten run as they face Bangladesh on Saturday at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan.

A journalist mistook Suryakumar Yadav as Mohammed Siraj during a presser.© Instagram

File image of Jasprit Bumrah.© AFP

Are the Indian cricket team members, upon whom rest the responsibility of bringing the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy home, really in great form? Not really. Virat Kohli finished as the top run-scorer while Jasprit Bumrah also did well. However, there are two very important names, whose IPL 2024 form left a lot to be desired – Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya – both two important characters of a hugely-debated Mumbai Indians captaincy change. Though Rohit Sharma scored 417 runs in 14 matches in the IPL 2024, he had a string of low scores as an opener in the IPL 2024. 

Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, did well with the ball in the latter stages but overall the fast bowling allrounder wasn’t his best for MI in the IPL 2024. 

Sourav Ganguly, former BCCI president and ex-Indian cricket team coach, was asked about the duo form going into the T20 World Cup 2024. 

“No, I am not worried. Rohit is a great of the game, and if you see what he did in the 50-over World Cup, I am confident he will do that again. At this level, form is about a couple of games when you have that kind of quality. So, I am not worried about Rohit. He has scored runs across the world, and has played a lot of cricket and will surely do the job expected of him,” Sourav Ganguly told Revsportz. 

“Hardik is different because he doesn’t play that much cricket, and that’s a worry. I want him to consistently play cricket, for only then can he hit a rich vein of form. I would want him to do so, and it can only happen if he plays a lot more cricket.”

Ganguly was also asked if the form of Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep was a concern too ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. 

“I am not really worried. Again, you have to take into account the nature of pitches in the IPL, the ground dimensions and the conditions on offer for the fast bowlers. The World Cup will be very different, and the conditions in the West Indies will not be anywhere near the IPL. Our bowlers shouldn’t have an issue in the World Cup is my assumption,” Ganguly said.  

Punjab Kings didn’t utilise young Arshdeep Singh properly during the just-concluded IPL but the left-arm pacer can be very effective during the death overs at the T20 World Cup along with Jasprit Bumrah, reckons former India pacer Rudra Pratap Singh. The left-arm seamer got 19 wickets from 14 games but an economy rate of 10.03, primarily due to the ‘impact player’ onslaught left him a bit dazed. RP Singh, India’s bowling hero in the 2007 edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa, said he will prefer Arshdeep over Mohammed Siraj.

“If we assess Arshdeep on the basis of his IPL performance, I think he hasn’t been utilised well,” RP Singh said while replying to a PTI query during a promotional event where the Indian team’s jersey was unveiled for the inaugural World Championship of Legends.

“The utilisation of the bowlers also depends on their captain, in which conditions he uses them, in which situation he makes them bowl and how best that he thinks his bowler is.” RP Singh, feels that wicket at Nassau County will be on the slower side and Arshdeep rather than bowling pacey length deliveries should focus on cutters.

“Talking about the length on the tracks in USA during an early morning start, as per my understanding, there should a bit of slowness in the wicket. So, the ideal length will be somewhere around just short of good length.

“There will be not a lot of swing for the bowlers but the bowlers with variations, not only just yorkers but also slower ones, leg and off cutters. These deliveries will be utilised a bit more by Arshdeep, so the success rate will be automatically higher for him and that’s what I understand the wickets in the US.” RP feels that Jasprit Bumrah should ideally bowl three overs in the back-10 as that would put pressure on opposition batting unit.

“Death bowling is really important in T20 cricket. Bumrah may bowl three overs in the death. He is our mainstay there. My preference alongside Bumrah in the death is Arshdeep over Siraj because of the variations he has. I think Siraj can be impactful in a game when he is bowling with the new ball. Otherwise, it should be Bumrah and Arshdeep.” Arshdeep, as a left-armer, will always create those difficult angles for right-handers and hence becomes an important cog in the wheel. The World T20 reserves also has another left-armer in Khaleel Ahmed.

“Left arm pacers are always an advantage especially against right-handed batters. It is not like two or more left-arm seamers can’t play together. Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and I have played in multiple games together.” For the perfect balance, Hardik Pandya needs to bowl his full quota of overs as it would give the team the luxury to play three specialist spinners and a chance to include Yuzvendra Chahal alongside Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in the eleven.

“Hardik bowled in the IPL and bowled four overs so there’s no injury scare. Hardik’s bowling will be important and he will have to bowl all his quota of 4-overs. If Shivam Dube bowls too, then it will be an added advantage for India ahead.

“Shivam may not play some matches initially but whenever he plays, he will perform well and score runs for India.”

Former India cricketer Rahul Sharma wants Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh to lead the Indian bowling attack in the upcoming T2O World Cup in the USA and West Indies with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in the spin department. The much-awaited T20 World Cup 2024 is set to begin on Sunday (as per IST) with co-host the United States taking on Canada in the tournament opener in Texas. India will take on Ireland in their T20 World Cup opening match in New York on June 5 before the high-octane clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 9.

The Indian squad includes four spinners (Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel) and three pacers with two all-rounders. Chahal is making his comeback in the Indian team after July 2023 and was in red-hot form in the IPL 2024. With slow and turning drop-in pitches in the USA, Sharma thought that Jadeja along with Kuldeep would be a much better option than Axar and Chahal.

“We don’t know how the pitches in the USA will behave but as far I know the conditions there and some of the reports that are coming I will field Kuldeep Yadav along with experienced Ravindra Jadeja in the spin department and will want Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh to lead the Indian bowling attack,” Rahul Sharma told IANS at the inaugural event of Team India Champions.

“With four bowling options, and Hardik Pandya or Shivam Dube as all-rounder and fifth bowling option the Indian squad will look balanced and it will be easy for skipper Rohit Sharma to use the bowlers,” he added.

When asked about who he would like to see as the finisher role for the Indian team, Rahul Sharma said, “Seeing the way Shivam Dube has batted in this edition of IPL, especially against spinners it was amazing to see and also, he can be used as a bowler too. He dominated against spinners, batted sensibly against pacers, and didn’t look in any trouble. “So, for me, he must be given the responsibility of finishing the matches. And also we have Rishabh Pant in the middle, who has the ability to change the match from any point, so I don’t think there is any concern in the bowling department, and I hope that they dominate,” he concluded.

India will face Bangladesh in a warm-up match on Saturday at the newly-built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in the USA, which is scheduled to host eight matches of the marquee tournament, including three games of India. The highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash, penciled for June 9, will also be hosted at this venue.

Yashasvi Jaiswal will aim to add his bit to the combination conundrum with a handy contribution while Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj need to put their best foot forward during India’s only T20 World Cup warm-up game against Bangladesh ahead of their tournament opener on June 5. With all 15 cricketers being regular playing XI members of their respective IPL franchises, the team is certainly not short on game time but an assortment of 15 high- calibre players and finding that perfect combination will be key to ending India’s 13-year global trophy drought.

In the warm-up game, it is expected that save for Virat Kohli, who is expected to touch down some time before the practice game, all other 14 players will be given a go as it doesn’t have an official status.

It will be an opportunity to check everyone’s rhythm after most of the core team members enjoyed a two-week break.

There will be two areas where skipper Rohit Sharma and outgoing head coach Rahul Dravid need to take a judicious call.

Even if Jaiswal is in good nick, how to fit him in the side will be an issue as it would mean keeping a power-hitter like Shivam Dube out of the playing XI.

It is a foregone conclusion that Jaiswal might have to sit out as it would not only allow Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to open but could also open the door for Dube at the back end of the tournament.

“Shivam Dube is a six-hitting machine. He can be the ‘x-factor’ in the T20 World Cup. But if Shivam has to be in the XI, then you can’t play Yashasvi. Rohit has to take that call and I prefer both pace-bowling all-rounders in the XI. If Shivam plays, he can take on the opposition wrist spinners in the latter half,” Suresh Raina, one of India’s premier T20 batters of his time, said on Friday when asked about a possible combination.

The second teething problem for India would be to find Jasprit Bumrah’s opening pace-bowling partner. Both Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj have blown hot and cold in the IPL and their form has left a lot to be desired.

RP Singh, one of the heroes of India’s inaugural edition victory, feels that Hardik Pandya’s four overs will be very important. Besides, he feels that Arshdeep should be the second frontline pacer on the newly-laid drop-in track.

Talking about the length to be bowled on the tracks in the US during an early morning start, he felt variations will be important, which make Arshdeep a better bet compared to Siraj.

“As per my understanding, there should be a bit of slowness in the wicket. So, the ideal length will be somewhere around just short of good length. There will not be a lot of swing for the bowlers but the bowlers with variations, not only yorkers but also slower ones, leg and off cutters…,” RP replied to a PTI query during a promotional event in Delhi.

“These deliveries will be utilised a bit more by Arshdeep, so the success rate will be automatically higher for him and that’s what I understand the wickets in the US,” he explained.

Against Bangladesh on a slowish track, it would also be a challenge for the middle-order as to how they deal with Shakib Al Hasan and Mahedi Hasan apart from questions asked by cutter master Mustafizur Rahaman.