Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh named India’s playing XI for the highly-anticipated T20 World Cup clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the opening match at the MCG. He snubbed Rishabh Pant, Harshal Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin and Deepak Hooda from his XI. His team consisted of five batters, one all-rounder, two spinners and three pacers as well.
“I feel the team is straightforward. I feel Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik and Axar Patel will be in the team. Yuzi Chahal will play along with them. After that, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami,” Harbhajan Singh told Star Sports.
“This is my choice. Harshal Patel might not get a chance. I feel Deepak Hooda and R Ashwin will not get a chance in the first few games. I am seeing this as the starting XI,” he further added.
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Harbhajan Singh further said that Mohammed Shami’s experience will matter a lot on the big stage and his role is going to be even bigger in the absence of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
“Shami getting fit is a good sign for the Indian team. The style of the bowler he is, and his experience matter a lot on the big stage. Shami’s role becomes even bigger with Bumrah not being there. We hope that he lives up to those expectations,” he said.
Harbhajan Singh reckoned that R Ashwin might not get a chance in the first few T20 World Cup matches as all-rounder Axar Patel’s presence makes the Indian batting look slightly stronger also.
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“I don’t think R Ashwin will get a chance because the batting looks slightly long with Axar Patel’s presence. If Axar Patel doesn’t play, you cannot depend so much on R Ashwin’s batting in T20Is, he is good in the longest format,” Harbhajan Singh concluded.
