T20 World Cup 2024: Irfan Pathan Proposes Three Key Strategies For India

As India prepares for the T20 World Cup 2024, former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has proposed three potential playing eleven combinations for captain Rohit Sharma to consider. Pathan, who was part of India's victorious 2007 T20 World Cup team, suggested strategies to enhance the team's performance in the upcoming ICC event.

Pathan's first suggestion involves including six bowlers, with Axar Patel among them, to strengthen the batting lineup. Alternatively, he proposed using four specialist bowlers and relying on Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube to contribute a few overs each.

"With the selected team, there can be two combinations. In one combination, you can play with six bowlers, including Axar Patel, to deepen the batting lineup. In the other combination, you can play with four front-line bowlers and expect Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya to bowl," Pathan told Star Sports.

Pathan also introduced a third option involving Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube, who have been practising their bowling in the nets. He suggested that these players could be tried out to achieve the desired team balance.

"Another option for Team India is a young player who bowls in the nets but hasn't bowled in matches, Yashasvi Jaiswal. Shivam Dube also mentioned during the IPL that he has been regularly bowling in the nets, preparing to bowl one or two overs in the World Cup," Pathan added.

Challenges and Solutions

Pathan highlighted a challenge for India: key batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Virat Kohli do not bowl. However, he noted that if Hardik Pandya could bowl three to four overs, it would significantly address this issue.

"If Hardik can give you the option of bowling three to four overs, this problem will be largely solved. Our other batsmen, like Rohit, Virat, or Suryakumar Yadav, can't bowl, which makes us somewhat handicapped. Ideally, if any of these players could bowl, it would greatly benefit the team," Pathan stated.

Comparisons with Other Teams

Pathan compared India's situation with teams like Australia and England, which have multiple all-rounders among their top seven players. He mentioned Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, and Will Jacks as examples from England's squad.

"We talk about Australia, but even England has many all-rounders among their top seven players, including Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, and Will Jacks. It's always better to have more bowling options, and yes, in this scenario, we are definitely handicapped," Pathan said.

India's All-Rounder Strength

India's squad includes two all-rounders—Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya—who can complete their quota of four overs each. This allows India to potentially play just three specialist bowlers while enhancing their batting depth.

India Squad for T20 World Cup 2024

The squad selection reflects India's strategy to balance their batting and bowling strengths as they aim for success in the T20 World Cup 2024.