Will he or won't he? Indian skipper Rohit Sharma answered the buzzing question about Virat Kohli's batting position when the veteran opener graced the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium for the traditional coin-toss. Kickstarting India's ICC T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against European giant-killers Ireland on Wednesday, skipper Rohit won the toss and elected to bowl first in New York. Confirming the return of former skipper Kohli, skipper Rohit revealed the names of four Indian stars who failed to feature in the India lineup against Ireland.
Speaking at the toss in New York, India captain Rohit told ex-Indian head coach Ravi Shastri that the Men In Blue are without Rajasthan Royals (RR) superstars Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson. RR skipper Samson opened for India with skipper Rohit in India's one-off warm-up match against Bangladesh. Opener Jaiswal was made to warm-up the bench as Kohli-less India kickstarted their T20 World Cup preparations with a comfortable win over Bangladesh.
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“We're going to bowl. Preparations have been alright. Have been managing ourselves in these new conditions. Has been challenging but we are all professionals. We played on a similar pitch and do know what to expect a little bit. I know it's going to be slightly different from what we're used to. But that's what the sport is. Not sure about the conditions too much, so thought having a target in front of us would be good. Guys missing out are Kuldeep, Sanju, Jaiswal and one more,” Rohit told Shastri after winning the toss.
{{/usCountry}}“We're going to bowl. Preparations have been alright. Have been managing ourselves in these new conditions. Has been challenging but we are all professionals. We played on a similar pitch and do know what to expect a little bit. I know it's going to be slightly different from what we're used to. But that's what the sport is. Not sure about the conditions too much, so thought having a target in front of us would be good. Guys missing out are Kuldeep, Sanju, Jaiswal and one more,” Rohit told Shastri after winning the toss.
{{/usCountry}}Former India skipper Kohli will open the innings with skipper Rohit against Ireland. Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will bat at No.3 position while top-ranked batter Suryakumar Yadav is set to spearhead the middle-order with vice-captain Hardik Pandya. With Hardik, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel roped in as all-rounders, India's pace battery features Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj.
India's playing XI vs Ireland: Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.
Ireland's playing XI vs India: Paul Stirling(c), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker(w), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little, Benjamin White.