Former England cricketer Ashley Giles feels India is still figuring out their best combination for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. The mega-event is all set to take place in October this year in Australia. With the World Cup just around the corner, the Indian team has been trying out experimenting with their playing XI. They made as many as four changes to their team in the third T20I against England.
Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, and Shreyas Iyer replaced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Hardik Pandya in the team for the match, as the series was already in the pocket. India lost the match by seventeen runs as they failed to chase down 216 runs at the Trent Bridge. Suryakumar Yadav was the lone shining light in the batting unit, slamming his maiden international century.
Speaking about India’s loss, Ashley Giles expressed that the Rohit Sharma-led team needs to address a few concerns before the T20 World Cup. He said on the Espncricinfo,
“Do India really know what their best team is right now? DK (Dinesh Karthik) has played some very good cricket but there are a lot of good players to fit into that team. (Deepak) Hooda looks like someone who could be really destructive in the top order and Rishabh Pant could do a very good job down the backend.”
India won the three-match T20I series against England 2-1. They will take on the hosts in a three-match ODI series starting from July 12 at the Kennington Oval in London.
𝗖. 𝗛. 𝗔. 𝗠. 𝗣. 𝗜. 𝗢. 𝗡. 𝗦! 🏆
Winners of the #ENGvIND T20I series. 👌👌
Congratulations #TeamIndia! 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/idKTT3gfdO
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 10, 2022
Better to let Pant bat in the middle, if KL Rahul is going to come back at the top of the order: Ashley Giles
Former England spinner Ashley Giles also spoke about India’s batting order. Wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant opened the innings for India in the second and third T20I. Giles expressed that if regular opener KL Rahul is going to bat at the top in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, India should let Rishabh bat in the middle-order. He added that Pant should get the experience in the middle order before the world cup.
“I do think there are some things to work out around this keeping position – whether Pant bats at the top or the middle. We have seen DK bat in this game. It’s very difficult when you go in at the end. But it’s neither here nor there. If KL Rahul is going to come back at the top of the order, I am not sure of the point of continuing with this. It’s better to let Pant bat in the middle and end and let him get the experience there for that World Cup,” said Ashley Giles.
The Indian team will begin their ICC T20 World Cup 2022 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan. The match will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23, 2022.
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