What makes India the team to beat at the T20 World Cup

Three attack-minded openers and a combination focused unit will help co-hosts in the T20 World Cup

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

You can have a huge talent pool but unless you put your best players on the park, it will not count for much. That is what makes the selectors’ job challenging-making the right picks, taking tough calls, rectifying their mistakes.

The Ajit Agarkar-led committee has done its job, picking a formidable side for the T20 World Cup in February and March. What will provide India a big advantage is that they will be playing in home conditions. The selectors have also eased the confusion that surrounded the squad till the India’s last T20I versus South Africa on Friday.

Like all teams, the current set also tinkered with combinations and experimented with the approaches. However, when it comes to the big event, a home World Cup, they have shown the clarity needed.

It starts with the opening combination. The one common thing for teams that have dominated in limited-overs cricket is their explosive openers. The template was set by New Zealand unleashing left-hand opener Mark Greatbatch as a pinch-hitter at the 1992 ODI World Cup. When India regained the title in 2011, it had Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar at the top.

Rohit Sharma reinvented his game to suit the demands of ODI and T20 format and the impact was seen at the 2023 ODI and 2024 T20 World Cups.