Virat Kohli, the leading IPL run scorer, solidified his position as the greatest all-around batsman in the world.
India, ranked No. 1, is the favorite going into the ninth T20 World Cup in 2024.
India will be under heavy scrutiny from fans and analysts throughout the four-week competition, which is being staged in the US and the West Indies.
India has not been able to duplicate their victory since winning the World Cup for the first time in 2007 against overwhelming odds. Significant cricket trophies have remained frustratingly out of reach for Indian cricket, despite the sport's increasing revenue, importance, and skill.
India hasn't really taken home an International Cricket Council (ICC) championship since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013. Though they failed this test, three outstanding captains—MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma—as well as two well-known head coaches—Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid—have, in other combinations, produced outstanding success elsewhere. India was defeated by Australia in the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup finals last year.
This time, can India break the jinx?
The Indian Premier League (IPL), which debuted in 2008, has been the league that predicts form and has a significant impact on the selection of the Indian side for Twenty20 and sometimes even 50-over ODI World Cups. The pressure and fierce competitiveness of the IPL put players' skills and temperament to the test. On the other hand, the Indian World Cup team, which is built on the IPL 2024, gives mixed indications.
For example, not a single member of the team appeared in the IPL championship. Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player Rinku Singh is not in the starting lineup of 15, but rather a member of the traveling reserves. For two years, Shubman Gill was hailed as the next "Big Thing" in Indian cricket, but he has now been demoted to the reserves.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Riyan Parag, the top run scorers in the IPL 2024 after Virat Kohli, aren't even in the reserves. Notably, Gaikwad led India to victory at the Asian Games the previous year. The Indian squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup, which includes Harshal Patel and Varun Chakravarthy, who led the IPL in wicket-taking last season, has been disregarded.
Notable absences and the selection of many players depending on their IPL 2024 performance raise doubts about the traditional wisdom of the selection process. Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah were the two most impressive Indian performances. Midway through the competition, criticism of Kohli's strike rate rose, but his outstanding batting hushed his naysayers. He confirmed his position as the top all-around batsman in the world by scoring the most runs.
Despite finishing third in terms of wickets taken, Bumrah was still the most feared player. Even though his team finished last, Bumrah was an incredible asset because of his exceptional talents and ability to take wickets at any point in the game. He also conceded less than seven runs per over and was very economical. Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the modern era because to his triumph in the ODI World Cup last year and his outstanding performance in the Test series against England. Rishabh Pant is the only other player in this team who I believe falls into the same bracket as Bumrah and Kohli.
Not for his IPL 2024 statistical accomplishments, but rather for his incredible and forceful comeback to major league cricket after an approximately 18-month absence due to a near-fatal injury. Pant's inventive, brilliant, and free-spirited batting has come back to haunt India, and it bodes well for the World Cup. The hard-hitting Shivam Dube, who had an IPL breakthrough that grabbed selectors' eye, is a step below.
After this, the Indian team's strength begins to diminish. In the IPL 2024, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal (making a return) all did okay but nothing spectacular. The other three, left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, all had mediocre results. The primary pace supporter of Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, was mostly a straggler.
The way the Australian-imported drop-in pitches perform will be vital to every World Cup squad. However, the bowling assault seems to lack diversity and cutting edge, at least on paper, with three left-arm spinners and an inconsistent speed contingent (including newcomers Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan in the reserves).
The main cause for worry is captain Rohit Sharma and deputy Hardik Pandya's dismal IPL performance. Their role in the Mumbai Indians leadership changeover incident cast suspicion on them and affected the cohesiveness of the squad. As seen in the ODI World Cup, Rohit's devastating batting as an opener is essential to India's victory. Equally important is Pandya's all-around skill as a finisher, speed bowler, and accurate fielder. The team's equilibrium is jeopardized when Pandya isn't performing at his peak.
To be sure, India's selections have done a good job of addressing the majority of possibilities and checking all the boxes. This is made feasible by the amount of skill in Indian cricket, even with many of its top players playing in dubious forms.
With the exception of Pakistan, the IPL acts as a proving ground for Indian players and a global melting pot for the best T20 talent. Several players who dazzled in the IPL this season and are ready to go far for their various national teams will be facing the Indian squad.
The incumbent champions England, the twice-champion West Indies (with home advantage), and Australia—who have been scheming to win for the last year—are all serious candidates for the championship. Pakistan and Sri Lanka were two of the six nations who won the World Cup in the eight previous iterations. This emphasizes how reputation is not very important in this format.
In white-ball cricket, as they shown in the ODI World Cup, inexperienced sides like Afghanistan may easily shock more seasoned teams. Not only would it be dangerous, but it would be completely stupid to choose the winner of this World Cup. Every squad has to give it their all.
In the league stage, India and Pakistan are grouped together. It is predicted that over two billion people will watch the "biggest-ever" cricket match in history on June 9 between these two bitter rivals.
Both teams want to avoid defeat. India, nevertheless, which has historically prevailed in these kinds of matches in ICC competitions (ODI and T20), has to aim more than merely winning this match. Winning the World Cup would provide real atonement for the team; defeating Pakistan will just serve as a springboard.
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