Shardul Thakur
Former India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar feels that the captain Virat Kohli India will look to go with six bowlers – three of them seamers – on relatively flat pitches in the UAE when they begin their ICC T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24.
While the batting line-up is more or less fixed, it is the bowling department that will need to be tailored to the pitch, and Agarkar feels that if the wicket has “something to offer”, Kohli could probably take a chance. Five bowlers.
“Relatively certain Virat Kohli would prefer the six-bowling option. If the pitch has something to offer, you can probably take a chance with five bowlers, but if it is a flat pitch, he would ideally have six bowlers. Would like to go along.Agarkar said on Star Sports on Tuesday that there are three fast bowlers and they have a lot of spin options.
“And Jadeja is an all-rounder whose batting has progressed very fast. So, you can consider him as one of the top-order batsmen. So, my six options – if Hardik Pandya don’t have to bowl – will Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Ravindra JadejaVarun Chakraborty and Rahul Chahar,” Agarkar said.
India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel said that by now Kohli must have known what combinations he wants to combine, though he may not have made up his mind on the players to play.
“I’m sure Virat knows his playing XI and maybe not the name, but I’m sure he knows what combination he wants to go with. For me, the question would be whether you should play Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Shardul Thakur.
“Perhaps Rohit Sharma And KL Rahul To open, Virat at No. 3, Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4, Rishabh Pant at No. 5, Hardik Pandya – even if he’s not bowling, he is picked as someone who can finish the game Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and the last choice will be between Shardul Thakur and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
.