An easy win over Afghanistan is now in the past as India Cricket Team travel to Antigua for the IND vs BAN clash on Saturday. The short turnaround time including travelling from Barbados to Antigua will surely be in Rohit Sharma’s mind and that could force changes in India Playing XI. While Rohit has already hinted at changes, the interesting decision will be regarding the bowling combination. Australia used four seamers in Antigua in their easy win over Bangladesh. Will India follow suit in the T20 World Cup Super 8 clash? Or will India rest a fragile Jasprit Bumrah considering the quick turnout time in Super 8?
So far, Antigua has been the best batting pitch the T20 World Cup 2024 has to offer. With little to no assistance for spinners, Antigua has produced some run fests. Keeping that in mind, Rohit Sharma could swap Mohammed Siraj for Kuldeep Yadav based on the conditions. There is also a question of workload management for Jasprit Bumrah.
Mohammed Siraj to return?
Team India left out Mohd Siraj to bring in an additional spinner in Barbados. And Kuldeep Yadav repaid the faith with two wickets for 32 runs in four overs. But in the horses-for-courses approach, Kuldeep may need to warm the bench again for Mohd Siraj to return to India Playing XI, purely based on the conditions.
“We know Bumrah’s class and what he can do. Important for us to use him smartly regardless of conditions. He’s willing to responsibility and he’s been doing it for years. We have to assess conditions, opposition and based on that we’re open to make changes if required. We felt three spinners were good here, if it’s seamer-friendly next time, we’ll go with seamers.”
Rohit Sharma said after the match against Afghanistan.
What about Jasprit Bumrah?
Jasprit Bumrah was a stand-out performer with a superb spell of 3/7 in four overs against Bangladesh. But Team India will have to keep in mind the crucial IND vs AUS match on Monday. India will play three matches in a span of 96 hours. And if India do qualify for the semifinal and final, Rohit Sharma & Co will end up playing five games in 9 days.
As India cannot afford to rest Jasprit Bumrah against Australia or in the T20 World Cup knockouts, IND vs BAN is the only match where he can be rested. While that will rule out having three frontline seamers, Bumrah’s well-being in the next three matches is way more important. If Bumrah gets a break, Kuldeep will likely retain his place with Siraj replacing the pace spearhead in India Playing XI vs Bangladesh.
IND vs BAN: Any more changes?
It’s unlikely that Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will tinker with the batting combination. There is a case for Sanju Samson in place of Shivam Dube who hasn’t had the best of time in this T20 World Cup. However, as he adds a little bit of bowling to the mix, Sanju Samson may only have a backup keeper role.
Barring any niggle or fatigue due to the quick turnaround, India Playing XI is likely to remain the same.
Predicted India Playing XI vs Bangladesh
1. Rohit Sharma (C)
2. Virat Kohli
3. Rishabh Pant (WK)
4. Suryakumar Yadav
5. Shivam Dube
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Ravindra Jadeja
8. Axar Patel
9. Kuldeep Yadav
10. Arhsdeep Singh
11. Jasprit Bumrah/ Mohd Siraj
India Squad for Zimbabwe
Shubman Gill (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Harshit Rana
