Ravi Shastri picks his opening pair for India in T20 World Cup 2024

Ravi Shastri gave his opinion on the opening conundrum of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2024 later this year. There are many contenders for the spot in the upcoming World Cup. From senior batters like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul, to young batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill to fairly experienced batters like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan, many players are in contention.

After the 2nd T20I against Afghanistan, Shastri spoke to the broadcasters. In the discussion, a question was raised regarding the opening combination of India for the T20 WC 2024. The former Indian coach started praising Virat for his selfless knock in the match. Virat scored 29 runs in 16 balls, chasing a target of 173 runs, which impressed many including Shastri.

The former Indian batter pointed out the fact that Virat can bat with intent at the top. Ravi felt that if the partner at the other end did not end up wasting the balls, Virat could bat aggressively. “Virat Kohli is capable of playing with 181 SR too when he doesn’t have a partner on the other end who scores 27(28),” said Shastri in the interaction after the match.

Criticism of Rohit Sharma?

It seemed like Shastri indirectly took a jibe at Rohit Sharma. When the former Indian All-Rounder talked about 27(28) like innings, he meant that Rohit wasted too many deliveries in the semifinal of the T20 WC 2022 against England. One of the main reasons for the loss of India in the tournament was the slow start from India. It dented India’s chances in the game at Adelaide.

Ravi continued and picked his openers for the tournament. The 1983 World Cup winner chose Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli as his openers in the T20 WC 2024 for India. “Jaiswal and Kohli are my openers for WT20,” added Shastri. Jaiswal is the most impressive opener in India at the moment having performed in all the series and in the IPL 2023 as well. It is interesting to see whom India would eventually end up picking.