Highlights
- Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant are two wicketkeepers in the squad
- Jaffer feels that Pant should open for India
- Wasim has suggested Rohit Sharma to bat at number 4
T20 World Cup 2022: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 15-member squad that will board the flight to Australia for the T20 World Cup. As of now, everybody has an opinion about the look and the combination of the side. Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer has also opened up about the same now. Jaffer has suggested Rohit Sharma to use Pant more effectively. Considering the kind of batting prowess that the Delhi Capitals skipper has, Jaffer has asked Rohit to consider Rishabh Pant for the opening slot. He has dissected the combination of the squad and has named a batting order that he feels will give India a better chance of winning the World Cup.
Earlier yesterday Jaffer tweeted that he feels that Rishabh Pant will be highly beneficial if he can be used for the opening spot. Jaffer also asked the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma to bat at number 4. He added that Rohit should follow MS Dhoni's footsteps who took a gamble on Rohit by allowing him to open at the 2013 Champions Trophy. The former India opener also named his preferred batting order for team India. According to Wasim Jaffer KL, Rahul should open with Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli should bat at number 3, Rohit Sharma should walk in at number 4 followed by Suryakumar Yadav at 5.
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MS Dhoni had taken a gamble back in 2013 when he asked Rohit Sharma to open the innings for team India and the rest is history. The Indian skipper back then had opened against South Africa and ended up scoring 65 runs.
Pant has opened twice for India while they were touring England. The wicketkeeper-batsman did not fare very well at this slot and ended up scoring only 27 runs at an average of 13.50. As far as Rohit batting at number 4 is considered, he has done it 4 times for team India and averages 31.33.
India's T20 World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
