With India's opening game only a few days away, the team's head coach Rahul Dravid was asked about the likely opening combination for the T20 World Cup 2024.
Dravid said that they have picked three players - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the opener spot. He did not provide with a definite reply, implying that he wanted to keep all his options open ahead of the tournament.
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Rohit and Jaiswal have been the openers for India in the last two T20Is during the Afghanistan series earlier this year. However, Kohli's stunning performances as opener in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has had experts suggesting that he should open the batting during the T20 WC 2024.
What did Rahul Dravid say when asked about Team India's openers at T20 World Cup 2024?
Team India's head coach, Rahul Dravid was speaking at a press conference on Monday (June 3), where he was asked a question about the likely openers ahead of Team India's match against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.
In reply, Dravid said:
"We have got options. We are obviously not going to reveal our cards just yet. We have got Rohit and Jaiswal and Virat’s opening in the IPL as well. We’ve picked the team keeping in mind that we did have three options and we could pick and choose what we wanted depending on the conditions, depending on the kind of combination we go into these games with."
Even though Sanju Samson opened the batting during the warm-up match against Bangladesh, Team India is likely to go with only two among Rohit, Kohli or Jaiswal as openers during the T20 World Cup 2024.
How did Team India's likely World Cup openers Rohit, Kohli and Jaiswal perform during the IPL 2024?
Here is how Team India's three likely opening batters for the T20 World Cup 2024 performed during the recently concluded IPL 2024:
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 15 | 741 | 61.8 | 154.7 | 5/1 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 15 | 435 | 31.1 | 155.9 | 1/1 |
| Rohit Sharma | 14 | 417 | 32.1 | 150 | 1/1 |
As we can clearly see above, Kohli was the standout batter among the three openers and also ended up winning the Orange Cap, for most runs in the tournament.
Apart from their overall record in IPL 2024, it is important to look at how the impact that they made at the top of the order during the powerplay, for their respective teams. Have a look at the stats below:
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | Fours | Sixes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 15 | 373 | 93.2 | 161.5 | 36 | 21 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 15 | 282 | 35.2 | 154 | 44 | 8 |
| Rohit Sharma | 14 | 269 | 38.4 | 152 | 28 | 17 |
Once again, Kohli was able to not only take advantage of the field restrictions in the first 6 overs, but he protected his wicket very well during the tournament. This makes him a worthy front-runner for one of the opening roles at the World Cup.
India’s complete schedule for the 2024 T20 World Cup
| Fixture | Date | Time (IST) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| India vs Ireland | June 5, 2024 | 8:00 PM | Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York |
| India vs Pakistan | June 9, 2024 | 8:00 PM | Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York |
| USA v India | June 12, 2024 | 8:00 PM | Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York |
| India vs Canada | June 15, 2024 | 8:00 PM | Central Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill |
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