It's been more than a decade since Team India last won a global title. After the Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, the side has lost as many as five ICC tournament finals and bowed out in the semi-finals on numerous occasions.
Last year, the Men in Blue had a great chance to end the ICC trophy drought at home but they once again failed to cross the final hurdle. The Rohit Sharma-led side won all the league-stage matches and the semi-final before losing the title clash of the Cricket World Cup to Australia in Ahmedabad.
While the Indian team is considered as one of the favourites to win the ongoing T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA, only time will tell whether Rohit and his men manage to break the jinx or not.
Days before the start of their campaign, former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra raised questions over India's preparation for the T20 World Cup 2024, claiming that the team is still figuring out the batting line-up.
“Are India underprepared for yet another T20 World Cup? Aren't we still figuring out our batting line-up? Who is the opener and the finisher? Should we get to know all these only in the World Cup? Yes, India like a left-right combination, but are almost certain to go with two right-handers: Rohit and Kohli. Rishabh Pant will likely bat at No. 3, followed by Suryakumar Yadav, and their dismissals will depend on whether India will next send Shivam Dube or Hardik Pandya. Then Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. There are a lot of left-handers. But my question remains, why are we getting to know about this now? Shouldn't it be ideal that we should have known the opening combination by now?” Chopra said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra also drew comparisons with India's previous T20 World Cup squad from the 2022 edition, saying that the probable line-up is almost the same.
“Since the end of the last T20 World Cup in 2022, we have been playing with almost the same XI and the same batting order. So, what have we changed? And the roles that have changed, none were informed about it. It's not ideal. And it is because none of the senior players played since the last World Cup. I strongly feel we lack proper preparation. We are still trying to address it. We do have individual brilliance, but what happened last times was that we created a scene around the opening position. Between the World Cup in the UAE and Australia, we tried so many options for the opening role, including Suryakumar Yadav. But eventually, we opened with Rohit and Rahul, Kohli at 3...absolutely no use. That came back to haunt us. It's an early warning, but we haven't prepared well,” he remarked.
India, placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, USA, Canada and Ireland, will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
