Hardik Pandya ‘Backup’ As Sunil Gavaskar Picks Perfect India Bowling Attack For T20 World Cup

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has revealed his ideal playing combination for the team for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Americas. Gavaskar has urged captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid to play three spinners and one out-and-out pacer in Jasprit Bumrah, with vice-captain Hardik Pandya as the fifth bowling option. India have picked Hardik and Shivam Dube as the two pace-bowling all-rounders, but Gavaskar feels that playing the former would be good for maintaining the balance of the side.

“A balanced bowling attack is the most important in West Indies, so India can go with three spinners and two fast bowlers, with Hardik Pandya as the backup fast bowler. I think this will maintain the balance of the team,” Gavaskar told Dainik Jagran in an interview.

On being asked to share his views on India’s squad, Gavaskar said that India have a great balance of experience and youth in the ranks.

“I believe that this is a team that has a good mix of experience and youth. Along with Rohit, Virat, Surya, Bumrah, there are young players like Yashasvi, Rishabh, Shivam, who strengthen the team,” the batting great added.

Speaking on his T20 World Cup semifinalists, Gavaskar added: “It cannot be said who the four semi-finalists will be because in my view all the teams look balanced.”

India will begin their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Ireland on June 5 in New York before facing Pakistan in a much-anticipated encounter at the same venue on June 9.

India will play the USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.

However, before the start of the tournament, India are set to play Bangladesh in a warm-up game. The game will be key for India’s preparations as it will give the players a good chance to get used to the conditions.

India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.

Travelling Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan