Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that he has already decided on Team India’s playing XI for their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup opening match against archrivals Pakistan. Like in the previous edition of the tournament, this year as well, India will open its campaign against Pakistan. The high-octane match between these two teams will take place on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
For the first time in the history of World Cup matches, Pakistan managed to get the better of India last year when they secured a sensational 10-wicket win over Virat Kohli and Co. And so, this time, the Men in Blue will look to settle the score against the Men in Green.
India have experimented with more than 30 players in the T20I team since the end of the T20 World Cup last year, but on Saturday (October 15), during the captain’s day media event in Melbourne, Rohit confirmed that he has already decided the team combination for the match against Pakistan. Rohit said that he doesn’t believe in a last-minute decision as he wants them to prepare well.
“I don’t believe in last-minute decisions. We want to keep our boys informed about team selection before so that they can prepare early. I already have my XI for the Pakistan match. Already, those players are informed. I don’t believe in last-minute thing. I want them to prepare well”, Rohit said during the conference.
India will be without the services of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah in this year’s edition of the T20 World Cup as he has been ruled out of the event due to a back injury. In his place, the BCCI on Friday selected Mohammed Shami in the squad. But Rohit has said that he hasn’t seen Shami as yet, which is an indication that the speedster will not be part of that XI.
“I haven’t seen Shami as yet. But I am hearing good things about him. I will gauge him during the practice in Brisbane tomorrow (Sunday),” he added.
Shami, who was part of the Indian team in the T20 World Cup last year, has already reached Brisbane, where Team India is scheduled to play two warm-up matches against Australia and New Zealand on October 17 and 19, respectively.
