Excitement is in the air as preparations begin in the land of the Kangaroos for the eighth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The global cricketing spectacle is set to begin on the 16th of this month with the Super 12 starting on the 22nd and the final set to take place on the 13th of November. The hosts and the defending champions Australia, along with the winners of the first edition, India are favorites to be crowned champions of this year’s event. Not surprising, the Aussies have announced the same squad that won them the tournament in the UAE last year, with only one change however and that is franchise cricket hotshot Tim David being called up to the squad in place of leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson and rightfully so, as Australian conditions do not favor spinners very much. On the other end, the other favorite India has seen a paradigm shift ever since their disastrous campaign last year.
Squad Selection
The All-India Senior Selection Committee had a huge task at hand keeping in mind the devastating Asia Cup that saw India eliminated from the group stage with losses against arch-rivals Pakistan and Sri-Lanka.
On 12th September, the committee announced the 15-man squad that will travel to Australian soil to take part in this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. This squad saw the return of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah who missed out on the Asia Cup due to a back injury. One more death over specialist Harshal Patel is making a come back who also missed out on the Asia Cup due to a side strain. These two will join Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and all-round maestro Hardik Pandya to solve India’s evident issues in the pace department. At the same time, the spin department is settled consisting of grizzled vets Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzi Chahal with specialist off-spinner Axar Patel also making the squad in place of injured Ravindra Jadeja.
India’s star-studded batting lineup for this year’s World Cup is similar to their last year’s lineup with openers being Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul and an exceptional middle-order consisting of a red hot Virat Kohli, an in-form SuryaKumar Yadav, a dangerous Rishab Pant and an unpredictable Dinesh Karthik as his backup. A lethal lower-order is also in place as Hardik Pandya is in the form of his life, sending the ball out of the park every time a ball comes near his bat. Deepak Hooda is also present in the squad but his presence seems in jeopardy as reports of a back injury have emerged as the young all-rounder missed out on the series against South Africa at home. A star-studded reserve is also in place as Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Deepak Chahar will warm the benches.
Preparations for the tournament
Preparations for the tournament have already begun as India took on the Aussies in a three-match T20I series at home, beating them 2-1 with phenomenal all-round performances. Immediately following Australia was South Africa who will play both T20I and ODI series. The first T20 has already been played with India winning comfortably by 8 wickets after an amazing display by the bowlers. The Indian bowlers who stunned the Proteas and restricted them to only 106 runs in 20 overs. India will begin their long-anticipated World Cup campaign on 23rd October taking on arch-rivals Pakistan at the sensational Melbourne Cricket Ground.