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'...major issue for India': Former opener's blunt statement on what is ailing Rohit Sharma and Co.
India are set to fly to Australia for preparing for the T20 World Cup but there continues to be questions asked of the squad.
India have just one more match to play before they travel to Australia for the T20 World Cup but there are still question marks in the team that former players and experts are pointing out. Apart from running the risk of losing ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah to injury, India have shown a tendency of late to concede a lot of runs in the death overs.
Apart from that, a long standing issue for India has been that they have struggled to defend targets on multiple occasions. A prime example of it was when they could not defend a mammoth target of 209 against Australia last month. Former India opener Aakash Chopra has said that India need to prepare for the possibility that they might have to bat first after losing the toss multiple times in the 2022 T20 World Cup, as was the case in last year's tournament.
“Defending is a major issue for India. They failed to defend against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup and the 1st T20I against Australia. After that, they have won tosses and chased totals. But if they keep fielding first, they might suffer when the toss doesn’t go their way. If Team India’s entire World Cup campaign is centered on winning the toss, that’s a big worry," he said on his Youtube channel.
India had lost the toss in their first match of the 2021 T20 World Cup against Pakistan and went on to lose the match by 10 wickets. They then lost the toss in their second game against New Zealand and lost that match by eight wickets. The two losses put paid to India's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
“Even during the previous World Cup, India lost the toss against Pakistan and New Zealand. That was game, set and match. They were out of the tournament. There was dew in the UAE, but there won’t be dew in Australia. And there was no dew in the Asia Cup as well. When will India prepare for Bumrah’s possible absence and losing the toss? That is the big question,” he said.
