Winners of the inaugural event
T20 World Cup
In 2007, India will be looking to overcome some challenges when they take on Bangladesh in their practice match at the Nassau County International. Cricket This match will be played at New York Stadium on Saturday.
Apart from testing the ground conditions and the nature of drop-in pitches – where India will play their first three group matches against Ireland, Pakistan and USA – Rohit Sharma’s side will try to find answers to a few questions that will help captain and head coach Rahul Dravid decide on a preferred playing XI.
See also: T20 World Cup schedule
Speaking about this on Star Sports, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar shed light on India’s likely targets in their only practice match ahead of the campaign opener against Ireland on June 5.
Initial combination
“Who will open – left-right combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma or because Virat Kohli is in the team he should open?” Manjrekar said in his first point.
India may first think of having a left-handed and a right-handed batsman at the top, which will book Jaiswal in one of the opening slots. The toss will then be between Rohit and Virat, who have successfully opened in the format for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. But will Rohit be comfortable batting at No. 3 or will the team stick to the tried and tested formula and let Virat bat at No. 3?
Manjrekar pointed to another interesting possibility. “Maybe Yashasvi Jaiswal will not be in the playing XI (when the tournament starts), I think that could be a solution.”
Teams are allowed to use all 15 players of their squad in the practice match.
Wicketkeeper-batsman selection
“Who do you want to give preference to, Sanju Samson over Rishabh Pant? I think the sooner you get Pant back into the Indian team in this tournament the better it will be. Maybe it starts with the warm-up match,” Manjrekar said.
Favorite Spinner
“We know what we get with Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja (deep batting option). Kuldeep Yadav is in very good form. (Yuzvendra) Chahal is one of India’s main spinners. His form dipped a bit towards the end of the Indian Premier League; but there is no relation in domestic leagues versus international leagues, where batsmen are under a bit of pressure. Chahal might have a good time. So Chahal’s form, that will be important,” said Manjrekar.
“This is all you need to look for in a warm-up match,” he said in concluding remarks.
