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India, the inaugural T20 World Cup champions from 2007, are set to begin their campaign against Ireland in their Group A encounter today. The Men in Blue are eager to clinch their first International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy since their triumph in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
Before India’s ICC T20 World Cup opener against Ireland, former opener Aakash Chopra expressed concern over all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s ability to finish games, highlighting it as a key issue for the team.
India, the triumphant team of the first-ever T20 World Cup in 2007, are set to commence their journey against Ireland in a Group A showdown today. The Indian cricket squad, known as the Men in Blue, aims to clinch their initial International Cricket Council title since their victory in the ICC Champions Trophy of 2013.
On JioCinema’s sports program ‘#AAKASHVANI’, Chopra expressed his views, stating, “Ravindra Jadeja isn’t the ideal finisher. Despite being placed in that role, he doesn’t excel in it. We haven’t fully acknowledged his limitations in this aspect, which poses a challenge.”
Jadeja’s performance during the warm-up match against Bangladesh was lackluster, managing only four runs from six balls and missing opportunities to score boundaries and sixes that could have boosted India’s total. In the IPL 2024 season, across 14 matches, Jadeja accumulated 267 runs at an impressive average of 44.50 and a strike rate of 142.78, including one half-century with a top score of 57*. However, his efficacy as a finisher in the crucial final overs came under scrutiny during the recent IPL, following some inconsistent displays.
Jadeja’s T20I statistics stand at 480 runs from 36 innings across 66 matches, averaging 22.85 with a strike rate exceeding 125. Despite his consistent contributions, he is yet to notch up a half-century in this format, with his highest score being 46.
Aakash also highlighted concerns regarding the form of another all-rounder, Shivam Dube, who has been struggling since the latter half of the Indian Premier League. However, there are encouraging signs in the form of key players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav, which bodes well for India.
“Another concern is our fielding, which I think could be problematic,” he added.
Discussing the strategy India needs to adopt against Ireland, Aakash emphasized the challenging conditions at New York’s Nassau County Cricket Stadium, where the ball has been unpredictable. He suggested that India should focus on taking early wickets during the powerplay and also perform effectively with the bat when facing the new ball.
“If either one of those things does not work out, your morale can break. If you want to beat Ireland, you must not lose more than one wicket in the first six overs. Second, take two wickets at the start of your bowling, and then control the game with your spin,” he added.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube
Ireland Squad: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Ross Adair, Barry McCarthy, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Craig Young, Benjamin White, Neil Rock, Graham Hume.
