Top-order problem of plenty: Sharma-Sanju or Jaiswal-Gill

Choice is between two high-risk, high- impact players at the top or leaving room for a batting anchor

- Rasesh Mandani [e-mail]

The next edition of the T20 World Cup is six months away and starting with the Asia Cup in September, champions India will have 5 more T20Is each against Australia and South Alrica to identify their squad of fifteen and 5 further T20Is against New Zealand to trial before the main event.

By leaving ona high after the 2024 World Cup win, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli cleared all decks for the selectors to build amore dynamic squad for India’s title defence. A combination which would empower the team management to pick a playing 11 that confines to the new tenets of T20 cricket; where the openers hit the ground running in the Powerplay, leave the middle order to push the envelope further and specialist finishers take the innings to the desired end.

Over the last year, while greater focus has been on the traditional formats, India under Suryakumar Yadav have been able to do just that — add more pizzazz to their play by assembling the best IPL performers for each position to deliver an impressive run of results —17 wins in 20 T20Is.

A major shift has been the change in intent at the top. Over the last three series, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson — left and right, have gone hammer and tongs in the Powerplay. Samson scored three individual hundreds while Sharma charged fast bowlers, even hammered England to notch up 135, the highest individual T20I score by an Indian.

Where does that leave Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, both of whom were T201 regulars before? They would like a chance to stake claim, now that they are available.