Last Updated on 9 months ago by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: India’s best possible playing 11 for the T20 World Cup | Looking at India’s best 11 for the T20 World Cup in the UAE
India have announced their 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup. There have been all kinds of reactions from the fans about the squad but overall the Indian squad is looking in good shape.
Their batting unit is one of the best in the tournament while bowling could’ve been a little better, particularly in the pace department, but is a decent attack as well.
So what is India’s strongest playing 11 out of this squad of 15? Let’s take a look.
India’s best possible 11 for the T20 World Cup:
1. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is at the moment the best opener in all the three formats and one of the best batsmen of the current times. He is in excellent form as well, scoring good runs in challenging conditions in the Test series against England.
Rohit will open the innings for India. He has scored 2864 runs in 111 T20Is at an average of 32.54 and striking at 139. Also, the opener has scored a century in all three formats and we all know how destructive he can be on his day.
2. KL Rahul
KL Rahul should be the second opener for India. Rahul is an excellent batter in the shortest format. He has 1557 runs in 49 T20I games averaging almost 40 and striking at 142.19.
Rahul can play shots all-around the park. He is in terrific form as well. Rahul alongside Rohit, makes an excellent opening pair that has the ability to win games on their own once they get going.
3. Virat Kohli (Captain)
Skipper Virat Kohli should bat at number three. He is arguably the best batsman of this generation. He averages over 50 in all three formats. Virat has scored 3159 runs in 50 T20Is at an average of 52.65 at a strike-rate of 139.
He is the highest run-scorer in the Indian Premier League as well. Virat is a dynamic batter and can play both attacking as well as the role of anchoring the innings. Virat will look to lead India to their second World T20 title this time.
4. Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav made his T20I debut against England in March earlier this year. He made it into the national side after performing consistently in the IPL and in the domestic circuit as well. Surya is a very attacking batter and an excellent player of spin bowling, not to mention that he plays pace bowling very well too.
Surya can keep the momentum going in the middle-overs and can score at a high strike-rate. He has scored 2 half-centuries in the 3 T20I innings he has played. Surya is a great addition to his T20I side and adds immense value to the team.
5. Rishabh Pant (wk)
Rishabh Pant will be the wicket-keeper and will bat at number 5 for India in the T20 World Cup. Pant brings much needed left-hand variation in the batting line-up and plays in his own unique style. He starts attacking from ball one and can tear apart any bowling line-up once he gets going.
The southpaw is very destructive but yet to replicate his T20 returns in the T20 internationals. Pant has 3333 runs in 124 T20 games at an average of 32.67 striking at 147.93. On the other hand, after 33 T20Is he has scored 512 and strike-rate of 123.07. Pant is a match winner in the shortest format and will look to perform and win games for his side in the T20 world cup.
6. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya will be India’s fast bowling all-rounder. Pandya is a hard-hitting batsman and will bat at number 6. His job will be hitting those huge sixes and scoring quick runs in the death overs. Pandya can take the game away from the opposition in just 10-12 balls.
He is very handy with the ball as well. Pandya has 484 runs in 49 T20Is at a strike-rate of 145.34 and has 42 wickets at an economy of 8.17. Pandya will be very crucial in this World T20 for India as he may have to play the third pacer’s role in some games.
7. Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja will bat at number 7 and will bowl four overs of his left-arm orthodox bowling. Jadeja has been in terrific form in the last couple of years. Since IPL 2019, Jadeja has scored 469 runs in 26 games at an average of 52.1 and a strike-rate of 154. He has a strike-rate of 146 averaging 50 in T20Is during the same time period and has picked 8 wickets in 6 games at an economy of 6.26. Jadeja too will be a key player for India given his all-round attributes, and can be a floater for India.
8. Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin has returned in the limited overs squad after a very long time. India needed an off-spinner in their setup and he is currently the best off-spinner in India. Ashwin has played 46 T20I games and has picked 52 wickets at an economy of 6.97. He has 249 wickets in 252 T20 games at an economy of 6.94.
Ashwin is a very experienced campaigner and is in good form as well. He can control the flow of runs and is a wicket-taker as well. He can bowl with the new ball as well as providing flexibility to the bowling attack.
9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar can swing the ball both ways and is a wicket-taker with the new ball in the powerplay. Early wickets are very important and Bhuvi has the ability to provide early break-throughs. He has 50 wickets in 51 T20Is at an economy of 6.9. Despite his ordinary performances in the death overs at times, Bhuvi will be a key bowler for India in the crunch stages.
10. Mohammad Shami
Nobody expected Mohammad Shami to be picked in the World T20 squad but here he is. He is the third pacer in the 15-man squad and should start in the first 11 for India. Shami is a pacy hit the deck bowler but can swing the new ball as well. He is yet to prove himself in the shortest format as he has economy of 9.8 in the 12 T20Is that he has played. His death overs economy is over 10 and that is an area of concern. Although India can use Shami as a power play bowler or a middle-over enforcer. Expectations are high from Shami and he’ll look to perform as well.
11. Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah will lead the bowling attack of India. Bumrah is arguably the best all-format fast bowler in the world currently. He has picked 59 wickets in 50 T20Is at an economy of 6.66. Bumrah has 215 wickets in 175 games at an economy of just 7. Bumrah will be the one of the main players for India in this T20 World Cup and everyone will expect him to do what he does the best i.e. pick wickets and win games for his side.
So this is India’s strongest playing 11 from the 15-man squad that has been announced. The batting unit looks perfect alongside the spin department but the only area of concern is the pace bowling especially death bowling. Bhuvneshwar and Shami both have struggled in the death overs. It will be interesting to see how India deals with this.
Other than that their India can also play someone like Rahul Chahar or Varun Chakravarthy if conditions or match-ups are in favor. They have quite a few options for the playing 11.
Their squad is looking very settled and are definitely one of the title contenders in ICC World T20 2021.
Written by Robin Rounder. Follow Robin on Twitter today.
