Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who has been very vocal about his thoughts, has named his expected starting lineup of the Indian team for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
The men’s main selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar announced the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup two days ago and also named four reserve players. All the selected Indian players are currently participating in the IPL 2024 and those players who do not qualify for the playoffs this season will leave for the USA by May 21.
At the moment, everyone including Irfan Pathan is waiting for India captain Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar’s media address live from Mumbai. In it, Rohit and Agarkar are expected to shed light on the Indian squad selected for the World Cup and how they can beat the other 20 teams to lift their first ICC trophy since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Irfan Pathan names his starting XI and snubs Mohammad Siraj
Almost every other expert excludes Mohammad Siraj from his predicted starting XI. It could be because of the form and performance that Siraj has shown in the 2024 Indian Premier League season for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. And Irfan Pathan was no different as he too left out Siraj, who has registered just 6 wickets in 9 matches for the franchise.
Mohammad Siraj also conceded a goal 323 runs from 204 deliveries at a poor average of 53.83 and an economy rate of 9.50.
Now let’s talk about Irfan Pathan’s starting XI. In the opening slot, Irfan lined up with the usual Test match pairing of captain Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The top order chosen by Irfan Pathan was a no-brainer as he named the stalwart Virat Kohli at No. 3 and India’s own Mr. 360 Suryakumar Yadav.
Irfan Pathan went with the choice of wicket-keeper batsman Delhi capitals Captain Rishabh Pant instead Rajasthan Royals‘Sanju Samson. The former all-rounder, who was man of the match in the final that India won in the first T20 World Cup in 2007, named CSK’s Shivam Dube as the number 6 batsman.
In the lower middle order, Irfan Pathan picked Hardik Pandya, whom he has often criticized in the recent past, and CSK’s Ravindra Jadeja at number 8.
In bowling, Irfan Pathan chose Kuldeep Yadav instead of Yuzvendra Chahal to partner Jadeja. In the pace bowling department, Pathan picked current IPL 2024 purple cap holder Jasprit Bumrah, who will partner with Arshdeep Singh.
Irfan Pathan’s Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.
Team India’s schedule for the T20 World Cup 2024
The Indian team captained by Rohit Sharma will open their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 (Wednesday) at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.
India’s next three group games will take place on June 9 (Sunday) against Pakistan, on June 12 (Wednesday) against the USA and on June 15 (Saturday) against Canada.