A former IND star highlights the challenge of finding a combination for the T20 World Cup
The Indian cricket team for their upcoming T20I series against South Africa is largely unchanged from the one that recently beat Australia 4-1. It means that they have stuck to a rather young team for the series, many of whom would be playing in South Africa for the first time in their senior careers. It also meant that the senior stars of India, like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah, would miss yet another T20I series in the buildup to the T20 World Cup next year.
India currently has just one more T20I series scheduled to be played after the South Africa series before the 2024 Indian Premier League can kick off. That will be a three-match series at home against Afghanistan. Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel said that the team will find it challenging to arrive at the right combination for the T20 World Cup, which he said has been their problem in the tournaments they have played in recent years.
Parthiv said, “India's biggest challenge to me has always been finding the right combination, especially in the T20 format. And we don't have games. Now we are talking about just three Afghanistan games, if at all Virat, Rohit, or Bumrah play in them. So I think it is something that India will have to take into account.”