West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara has named his top three members of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024which will take place in the Caribbean and the United States.
Lara has picked Indian captain Rohit Sharma and senior batsman Virat Kohli in his top order but does not want them to open for the Men in Blue in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which starts on June 1.
However, the legendary batsman suggested that Indian selectors pick players according to his demands, irrespective of their names, for the next big event.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are great players with a lot of experience: Brian Lara
Brian Lara said in the ‘Star Sports Press Room’: “Both Rohit and Virat are great players with a lot of experience. They will be very useful to India if they go to the World Cup. But I think when you choose your team and your batting order, you have to choose based on what you want the players to do… It doesn’t matter who fills that spot.”
Lara stressed the importance of selecting players based on their ability to score quickly and not solely on their reputation for the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2024. He feels that India needs young blood in the top order with a senior opener like Rohit to get a score of 70-80 runs in the first six overs.
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He admitted that Rohit and Kohli are great players but it is important to have younger players to provide a dynamic start to the innings in the format. He suggested that Rohit or Kohli should bat lower down the order to stabilize the innings as if they open the innings, it can have a negative impact on the team.
The former West Indies captain believes that Kohli should bat at number 3 and Rohit should open for India with Shubman Gill in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. He highlighted that India needs Kohli if they want to win the coveted World Cup trophy T20 this year. .
Brian Lara names India’s top 3 for T20 World Cup 2024
Lara stated, “My top three in the Indian batting order will be Rohit, Gill and Virat. Every T20 team needs a man to anchor the innings. He doesn’t necessarily have to be a match winner, but his job is to hold one side, minimize the number of balls faced and give strikes to the big hitters. “Players like Aiden Markram and Virat Kohli are the kind of players you need in a team with big batsmen if you want to win the Cup.”
The legendary batsman also shared his views on Kohli’s strike rate in the ongoing IPL 2024, emphasizing that a strike rate of 130-140 is enough for openers but if a player is batting in the middle order or lower, a strike rate of 150 or above is a must.
Lara further mentioned that high scores are common in the ongoing IPL 2024, so a strike rate above 200 in the latter part of the innings is crucial for a team to have any chance of winning.
He suggested that as a starter, one can start with a strike rate above 200 and eventually end up with a strike rate of around 160-170, but a team cannot rely solely on one player.