Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina expressed confidence on Sunday that the ‘Men in Blue’ will excel in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA starting June 1. However, he cautioned that they need to quickly adapt to the “drop-in pitches” and weather conditions.
Tournament schedule and venues
The T20 World Cup kicks off on June 1 and will run until June 29, with matches being held at various venues across the USA and the Caribbean.
Raina’s insights at the Chhattisgarh Premier League media event
At a media event for the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh’s Chhattisgarh Premier League (CPL), which is set to occur in June, Raina discussed the team’s strengths. He emphasized the balanced lineup with Rohit Sharma as captain, Virat Kohli in excellent form, and Suryakumar Yadav performing well. Raina also highlighted the inclusion of two left-arm pacers who can bowl during the powerplay, as well as the presence of Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja.
He noted that the matches are scheduled for 10:00 AM, and the wickets are drop-in pitches. He emphasized the importance of the team quickly adapting to these wickets and conditions.
Hardik Pandya’s form and IPL performance
Regarding vice-captain Hardik Pandya’s recent struggles in the IPL, Raina remarked that temporary poor form shouldn’t overshadow his past successes, particularly for India. He expressed confidence that Pandya would shine in the upcoming World Cup match against Pakistan, earning praise once again.
MI struggled in the IPL season with Pandya as captain, only managing four wins out of 14 matches. During these games, Pandya scored 216 runs at an average of 18.00, with a highest score of 46 and a strike rate of 143.04. However, his bowling performance was below par, taking 11 wickets at an average of 35.18 and an economy rate of 10.75.
India’s group and initial matches
In the ICC tournament, India finds itself in Group A, accompanied by arch-rivals Pakistan, along with Ireland, Canada, and co-hosts USA.
India will commence their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Following this, they will engage in a much-anticipated clash against Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue. Subsequently, India will take on the USA on June 12 and Canada on June 15.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.