The preparations for the World T20 have begun by Team India, with them winning the second T20 against Sri Lanka by 7 wickets, while the first one was a washout in Guwahati due to rains. Indian have now taken an unassailable lead in the three-match series. Asked to bat first, Sri Lanka managed only a 142 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs. Shardul Thakur’s 3-23 was the best performance from India’s bowling unit.
In reply, India chased down the total with ease. Openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan added 71 runs in 9 overs after which Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer put on a match-winning partnership.
While Team India was busy playing the game against Sri Lanka, former India batsman VVS Laxman revealed the squad India should have if they want to win the T20 World Cup in Australia. Speaking on Star Sports, the legendary batsman picked India’s squad.
While most of the names were obvious, Laxman left out Shikhar Dhawan as well as MS Dhoni. Dhawan has not been doing well in T20Is for quite some time now and MS Dhoni has not played for India since July.
However, the former India skipper, as per speculations, will be returning to the Indian squad after the IPL and his performances in the Indian T20 league will determine if he will be a part of India’s squad in the World T20. Since Rishabh Pant has not quite proved his mettle yet, India still does not have a solid backup for Dhoni.
VVS Laxman also included two all-rounders – the incumbent Hardik Pandya and newcomer from Mumbai Shivam Dube – in his side.
VVS Laxman’s squad for T20 World Cup:
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
