India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, revealed why Virat Kohli did not participate in the T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match against Bangladesh. The match, held at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, was an important practice opportunity for the Indian team ahead of their league games against Ireland, Pakistan, and the United States.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat first, confirming that Kohli, who had only just arrived the previous day, would not play in the warm-up match.
Rohit explained, “We will bat. Not for any particular reason, conditions here look a bit challenging. Virat has just arrived yesterday, he’s going to miss out, the rest are all available and we’ll see how to use them.”
“We arrived quite early, so the body clock has adjusted, we just have to see how well we can adjust to these conditions.”
The warm-up match provided India with a chance to acclimate to conditions similar to those they will face in their upcoming World Cup matches. This game was particularly crucial for India as they look to fine-tune their strategies and performances ahead of the tournament.
Bangladesh, coming off a disappointing series loss to the USA, saw this match as an opportunity to regroup and prepare for the World Cup.
Their captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, expressed the team’s intent to test their bowlers in the challenging conditions, stating, “We would have bowled, we’ll have to adjust the conditions and I want to know how the bowlers do. The boys have enjoyed themselves so far here, we are going to play with 13 players – Taskin and Mustafizur have been rested.”
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Bangladesh playing XI: Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali (wicketkeeper), Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, and Tanvir Islam.
This warm-up match was a key preparatory step for both teams as they aimed to hone their skills and strategies ahead of the T20 World Cup, with India particularly focused on adapting to the conditions and maximizing their performance potential for the main event starting in June.
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