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T20 World Cup 2021: Parthiv Patel picks probable Team India XI for tournament

Former wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel picked his probable Team India XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in UAE and Oman.

Shardul Thakur and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in focus for one spot in the India playing 11

Bengaluru, October 19: Former wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel picked his probable Team India XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in UAE and Oman.

While the showpiece event has already started with preliminary round 1 fixtures, India begin their campaign in round 2 - the Super 12 phase, which is set to start from Saturday (October 23).

Before their opener, India, who have played one warm up match against England, will face Australia in their second and final practice match on Wednesday (October 20). And this is when Virat Kohli will get a clear picture of his team.

In the first warm up match, which India defeated England by 7 wickets, Rohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy played no part, and the quartet could feature against Australia in the second warm up match.

With picking the best XI in mind, Parthiv said India skipper Virat Kohli is absolutely sure about the combination he wants to go with, but the only question will be if he wants to go with Shardul Thakur or Bhuvneshwar as the third pacer.

"I am sure Virat knows his playing XI and probably not the names, but I am sure he knows what combination he wants to go with. To me, the question will be, should you play Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Shardul Thakur," Parthiv said on Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.

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Ishan Kishan played a match winning 70, but Parthiv believes Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul will open the innings followed by Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant.

"Probably Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul to open Virat at No 3, Suryakumar at No 4, Rishabh at No 5," Parthiv said on the batting order.

Despite Hardik Pandya not bowling so far, Parthiv feels the all-rounder will be used as a finisher and the only toss up in the playing 11 will be between the third pacer.

"Hardik - even if he is not bowling, he is picked as someone who can finish the game - Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Shami, Bumrah and the last choice will be between Shardul Thakur and Bhuvneshwar Kumar," he added.

With Hardik not bowling, the team has been imbalanced as they can't bring in a sixth bowler if one of the five have a bad day at the office like Bhuvneshwar gave away 54 runs in his 4 overs against England.

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However, Kohli will have a chance to see how Shardul Thakur, who is on the back of a fantastic IPL season with Chennai Super Kings, does in the warm up match against Australia before their Super 12 opener.

India will face their arch-rival Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on October 24 and play New Zealand a week later on October 31 at the same venue.

(With Agency inputs)

Story first published: Tuesday, October 19, 2021, 16:56 [IST]
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