Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly spoke about the initial combination of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2024. He believes that the experienced duo of captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should bat at the top of the team in the tournament.
Although the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is underway, attention is slowly shifting towards the T20 World Cup 2024. The tournament will begin right after the ongoing league starting June 1 in the United States of America ( USA) and the Caribbean.
The Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2024 is one of the main talking points. There are still many unanswered questions. There is no clarity on who will open the innings for the team and there has also been no certainty about any player in the 11. A lot will depend on how the players perform in the ongoing IPL.
Recently, some reports suggested that the BCCI is interested in opening with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The duo have shown great signs of form with the bat in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and have batted with high knocks while opening the innings for their respective teams.
While Virat Kohli is the orange cap holder in the IPL with 379 runs in his eight outings, Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, has amassed 297 and is the fifth leading run-getter in the tournament. Both players have also slammed centuries, showing the kind of form they are in.
Sourav Ganguly believes that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will go for the T20 World Cup 2024. While backing the duo in the innings, he stated that Kohli has the ability to score a century in 40 balls. Speaking during an event, he stated:
“Both Rohit Sharma and Viral Kohli will go to the West Indies and USA. It is a call for the selectors who they will open with, but if you ask me personally, both Rohit and Virat should open for India in the T20 World Cup. Virat has ability. Hitting a 40-ball century is about playing fearlessly and freely in T20Is.”
“India needs to come out and attack” – Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly further stated that the Indian team should play without fear and emphasized that there is no need to play with youngsters. He cited the example of James Anderson and MS Dhoni to support his point. He also emphasized that India needs to receive and hit the ball from the beginning. He explained:
“The most important thing for India is to play without fear. There is no strict rule on age and playing with youngsters in T20Is, James Anderson still plays Tests and bowls 30 overs in Tests, MS Dhoni still hits sixes and both are 40 years old. The six hit is important.
“India needs to go out and bat. Rohit, Virat, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, etc. All of them are exceptional talents and their six-hitting abilities are tremendous.“He concluded.