ICC T20 World Cup: Team India departs for Australia
Team India departed for Australia for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday (October 6) morning. The Rohit Sharma-led side aims to get accustomed to the conditions before the gala event. India will kick-start their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23. They are also scheduled to play a couple of warm-up games against hosts Australia and New Zealand.
BCCI shares update on Twitter
The official Twitter handle of BCCI shared a picture of the entire team and support staff departing for the tournament. The reserve players of the squad haven't travelled with the team due to different series. While Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi and Shreyas Iyer will participate in upcoming ODI series against South Africa, Mohammed Shami is at NCA to regain match fitness.
Why does this story matter?
The likes of Harshal Patel, Deepak Hooda and Arshdeep Singh are yet to play an international game in Australia. With the tracks assisting pace and bounce, getting accustomed sooner than later will be the key. India have more than two weeks of preparation time and identifying the best XI must be their primary goal . India's last toured to Australia in 2020-21.
Team India flies for Australia
India yet to finalize their 15th player
India have only travelled with 14 players as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah is yet to be announced. Skipper Rohit has stated that the officials aren't rushing to make the call. Shami and Chahar are the front-runners to occupy the position. Shami holds the edge but is short of match practice, having contracted COVID-19 recently. Chahar impressed in the recently concluded series versus SA.
Team India's drought for an ICC title
India are yet to clinch an ICC trophy since their 2013 Champions Trophy triumph. While they won the inaugural T20 World Cup, they suffered disappointments in the next six editions. In fact, they couldn't even clear the group stages in the last year's mega competition. The upcoming tournament will also mark Rohit's maiden leadership assignment in an ICC event.
How has Team India fared recently?
Although India defeated Australia and South Africa in the recently-concluded home T20I series, some major issues have popped up. Death bowling is arguably the team's biggest concern as the likes of Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have struggled in that area. Even Arshdeep Singh went for runs in slog overs during the SA series. Hence, India must identify a solid 15th player.
Batters in form
Coming to the positives, Suryakumar Yadav is in superlative form, having scored over 800 T20I runs in 2022. While KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have also been among the runs, Dinesh Karthik has been striking big in end overs. Axar Patel's form with the ball is also a positive and he can be a handy all-rounder alongside the in-form Hardik Pandya.
Team India in T20 World Cups
Besides winning the inaugural event in 2007, India also made it to the finals in the 2014 competition, where they lost to Sri Lanka. India also made it to the semi-finals of the 2016 event. In the other editions - 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2021 - the team couldn't enter the knock-out stage. Overall, India have 23 wins in 38 games in T20 WC.
