The Indian cricket team will enter the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 as one of the pre-tournament favourites. But can they win it?
Well, Men in Blue have won seven of the eight bilateral series they have played in 2022 and are coming fresh off a 2-1 home series win against South Africa.
The team that has achieved this momentous run is led by Rohit Sharma and coached by Rahul Dravid, and they have taken significant strides since the last T20 World Cup where they finished third in the Super 12 round.
The Men in Blue’s last success at an ICC tournament came back in 2013, when they won the ICC Champions Trophy under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.
India have taken a squad to Australia that is a mix of experience and youth, and we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the team ahead of their ambitious campaign that begins on October 23.
Strengths
It goes without saying that India boasts one of the best batting line-ups in T20I cricket. In Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the Men in Blue have two of the most successful hard-hitters in the format. The experienced cricketers have collectively scored 7,449 runs and will look to add to the tally with splendid performances along the way.
Rohit, in particular, will have a point to prove as he is 170 runs away from becoming the highest run-getter in the T20 World Cup history.
In KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, India have a competent batting order that will pile up the runs in the middle and death overs.
Weaknesses
Perhaps, the biggest drawback for India going into the T20 World Cup is a death overs specialist. With Jasprit Bumrah ruled out, Bhuvneshwar Kumar might be handed the ball in the final overs of the game as Mohammed Shami will be assigned to bowl the powerplay overs.
However, given Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s inconsistency in the T20I series against Australia, and the duo of Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel set to play their first major ICC tournament, there is a sense of worry on what bowling strategy will Rohit Sharma adopt in the upcoming competition.
Another weak point for India is their lack of an established all-rounder besides Hardik Pandya, given the long-term injury to Ravindra Jadeja.
India’s squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022
Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami.
Standby Players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur.
India’s schedule at ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022
October 23: India vs Pakistan – 1:30 PM
October 27: India vs A2 – 12:30 PM
October 30: India vs South Africa – 4:30 PM
November 2: India vs Bangladesh – 1:30 PM
November 6: India vs B1 – 1:30 PM
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