Published 10:16 IST, October 23rd 2022
T20 World Cup: What are Rohit Sharma-led Team India's concerns besides death bowling?
In absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Team India pacers will have to step up and have leaked runs in control especially in the final overs.
Team India's preparations for the T20 World Cup was hit with injuries in the form of key players. The loss of Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah before the tournament was a huge setback. In absence of two of their most important members, Team India is set to face arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match on October 23.
During the previous edition, Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets and Rohit Sharma's team will be eager to avenge loss by winning this contest. Team India looks to be a settled unit but there are certain areas of concern that could be skipper Rohit Sharma's headache.
T20 World Cup 2022: India's playing XI remains a worry ahead of Ind vs Pak blockbuster
Heading into the T20 World Cup 2022, Team India's biggest worry will be death bowling. In absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Team India pacers will have to step up and have leaked runs in control especially in the final overs. Apart from bowling, the other areas of concern would be the state of fielding and the absence of enough left-handed batsmen in playing XI.
Speaking of Team India's batting line-up for India vs Pakistan match, the batting order looks almost similar compared to the previous edition. However, the lack of a left-hander could hurt the Rohit Sharma-led side. Currently, the batting line-up of Team India looks dimensional with Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel being the only two left-handers. It will be interesting to see if Axar Patel can create the impact as Ravindra Jadeja did in the lower order.
Another major area of concern is fielding. When Virat Kohli was leading the team, the fielding standards set by players were very high. However, the fielding has now become a cause of concern with players committing misfields and dropped catches. Against Pakistan, the players will have to be on their toes and try to convert half chances by Pakistan batsmen. It will be interesting to see whether Indian players can improve their fielding in a tournament like T20 World Cup 2022 where every run-out and boundary save could make a big difference.
India vs Pakistan: What will happen if rain plays spoilsport?
Due to the climatic phenomenon called 'La Nina', Australia is currently hit with heavy downpours. If India vs Pakistan match gets affected by rain, then both teams will be awarded points since there are no reserve days for group-stage matches. Team India skipper, while replying to the question about weather conditions ahead of the team's opening match of the T20 WC 2022, was quoted as saying, “In hindsight, if you look at it yes it does, become a little important. I have been hearing about the Melbourne weather for a while now and it keeps changing. In the morning when I woke up, a lot of the buildings were under clouds. And now you suddenly see sunshine. So you don’t really know what is going to happen tomorrow."
Updated 10:16 IST, October 23rd 2022