It’s been a while. It’s been a long while. The last time it happened was when MS Dhoni hit a sixer over long-on in Wankhede. But that was back in 2011. India have not won a major ICC tournament ever since. Sure, they have played brilliantly over the years and especially since the past few years winning test series in Gabba, England and all over the world and reaching finals or the semi-finals of every tournament they have played in.
But now, with this being Virat Kohli’s last stint as India’s captain in the shortest format and long drought of a major ICC trophy, this really is the time that team India will be pushing for a huge trophy challenge.
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India’s settled top order & dominant middle order
After being the orange cap holder for almost the whole IPL if an experienced player like Shikhar Dhawan is not able to make it to the T20 squad for the world cup, it clearly shows the talent and squad depth India have. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will be India’s opening batsmen in the tournament and both of them have been in the form of their lives. Even in the longer format in difficult conditions, both these batsmen stood out and exuded their class and helped India win in England.
The shorter format is more suited to their strength and they will be one of India’s trump cards in the upcoming World Cup. With Virat Kohli getting runs in the IPL on a consistent basis, his confidence and form is also on the up too which really helps team India. Surya Kumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan who have not had a great run in the tournament so far but seem to be finding their form at the business end of the tournament.
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Sir Ravindra Jadeja - India’s X Factor & Varun Chakravarthy
No matter which format, which opposition and what conditions India are playing in, if there’s one name that really walks into that playing XI, it is this man. A brilliant bowler, explosive batsman and unarguably the best fielder in the world, Sir Jadeja can prove to be India’s trump card in this world cup. Especially considering the slowness of the pitches the matches will be played in and the form he has shown since a long while and even in the IPL. He is one of the biggest reasons for CSK’s success in the tournament.
Mystery spinner Varun Chakrvarthy - Mr Engineer has also come a long way and his story just keeps on getting better. He now finds himself on the plane to the T20 World Cup where he really could make a name for himself. He has been bowling really well in the IPl and the batsmen have found him quite difficult to read. Considering the fact that the conditions in Qatar are similar to the conditions in UAE, he can be India’s ace bowler in such conditions during the middle overs where India look to choke the opposition.
India’s Fiery Bowling Attack
One of the main reasons India could be successful this season and why we are considering them the favourites to win the tournament is because they have a very good bowling attack that can deliver yorkers at will and also has a good mixture of pace and swing. Bumrah, Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have all been playing well in the IPL and have been amongst the wickets and now they have played a lot of games for team India and should make a deadly trio. They are also very good with the sudden change of pace and cutters that are really needed in these kinds of pitches.
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India’s squad for the T20 World Cup:
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami
Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur