The India Cricket Team might be engaged in a lot of cricket in the coming days, but the chief focus for the Men in Blue remains the T20 World Cup. And it is a major headache for both Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar to select a perfectly balanced squad. All things set and done, Shreyas Iyer’s inclusion in the India Playing XI for the T20 World Cup will be a big question should Virat Kohli play.
India is keen to get the silverware and is narrowly missing out on the ODI World Cup at home to Australia. But with the seniors likely to play their last World Cup and a new generation of youngsters eager to make their mark, this can be a perfect opportunity to win the trophy and ensure a smooth transition in the shortest format of the game.
India boasts of having a very strong batting lineup in the T20Is. A typical example is the recently concluded IND vs AUS T20I series. In the absence of the usual suspects, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal proved to be ideal candidates to give the Men in Blue a good start.
Rohit Sharma’s involvement in T20 World Cup remains a doubt. Should he play, then India’s top 3 batters are set. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. The absence of Rohit can bring the likes of Ishan Kishan, Yashavi & Ruturaj into the mixes.
Why Shreyas Iyer vs Virat Kohli
But the biggest problem will be the inclusion of Shreyas Iyer in the team where Virat Kohli is playing. It is safe to understand that the two players cannot play in T20Is like they did in the ODI World Cup. In the shortest format of the game, Suryakumar Yadav is the designated number 4 while the likes of Jadeja, Hardik, and Rinku Singh (highly probable) will be the contenders to don the finisher’s role.
If Virat Kohli plays in the T20 World Cup, it will be curtains down for Shreyas Iyer. The 28-year-old recovered from his back injury and was a livewire for India in the World Cup. With some strong performances, he has established himself as a dependable middle-order batter.
But in T20Is, both Kohli and Iyer are traditional batters and the duo cannot play together as they did in ODIs. Iyer who missed IPL 2023 will be eager to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024 and prove his worth. For the IND vs SA series, Iyer has been picked across all three formats of the game.
After a good World Cup stint, Iyer will be ready to face the Proteas and English side before leading the Knights. With all eyes on the T20 World Cup, Iyer won’t be eager to budge down from the pressure and stand tall in the face of adversity.
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