- Key to depleted India’s title chances is the middle order.
- India’s hitters will need to step up in Australia to make up for their bowling deficiencies.
- Rohit Sharma’s team will also miss his precise yorkers and variations in the final overs.
Due to major player injuries, India’s hitters will need to step up in Australia to make up for their bowling deficiencies if they are to win the T20 World Cup trophy for a second time.
In the months leading up to the competition, India, which won the first iteration of the competition in 2007, lost all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to a knee issue and fast-bowling ace Jasprit Bumrah to a back injury.
In addition to losing Bumrah’s ability with the new ball, Rohit Sharma’s team will also miss his precise yorkers and variations in the final overs.
Jadeja’s damaged knee required surgery, and his precise middle-over bowling, hard-hitting batting deeper in the order, and electrifying fielding will leave a huge void in the team.
There isn’t much that can be done about injuries; they are an inevitable aspect of sports, Rohit told reporters. “It’s inevitable to have injuries when you play so many games.
“This past year, we concentrated on increasing our bench strength.”
While left-armer Axar Patel will have large shoes to fill as Jadeja’s replacement for India, who open their campaign against archrival Pakistan on Sunday, the seasoned Mohammed Shami was brought in to replace Bumrah despite not having played any international cricket since July.
The top three batsmen for India are Rohit, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli, but the middle order of Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik will be crucial to their chances of winning the title.
Pandya’s big-hitting prowess in white-ball cricket is well known, while Yadav’s spellbinding shot-making skills are second among T20 batsmen in the official rankings.
Karthik has impressed with his varied batting and finishing skills, but the absence of left-handers in India’s batting order may warrant Pant’s participation at number six, at least occasionally.
India’s middle order can be counted on to recover from slow starts and score additional runs to give their bowlers a little more breathing room.
India’s current batting lineup has been dubbed the finest ever in the shortest format by former coach Ravi Shastri.
As a coach for the last seven years, he remarked, “If you look at youth, experience, and people peaking in this format of the game, this is the strongest batting line-up India has had.”
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