As part of the T20 World Cup 2024, Team India will play the USA. The match will start at 8 PM IST in the Nassau Stadium in New York. Having won the previous two games, India is high as they face the third match. Therefore, that win puts Rohit Sharma’s side into the Super 8. The group stage for India culminates against Canada on the 15th with a nominal match. If India ruins this opportunity by losing to the USA, they must win from Canada. That situation is rare. It seems like Rohit Sharma’s Team India will now enter into this all-important game with one change in the playing XI.
In the matches against Ireland and Pakistan, the same playing XI was used. Although the men in blue managed to win both these games, there were visible shortcomings in the team. Skipper Rohit Sharma wants to keep all these issues in check before commencing the Super 8 round. Thus, reportedly, the team is gearing up to experiment with its playing XI.
The opening problem is incredibly haunting Team India. A big worry would be the loss of form of the regular opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal, along with Rohit Sharma. In a warm-up game against Bangladesh leading to the World Cup, they tried Sanju Samson as an opener, and he flopped. Without any option, Virat Kohli, who has been solid at one down, was asked to open. So far, Kohli may have had a successful opening partnership in the IPL but two failures in tandem with Rohit did not help his cause. A report states that Rohit may be willing to draft Jaiswal back into the team. To include Jaiswal, Rohit could relegate all-rounder Shivam Dube, though all four, including Hardik, along with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, are doing well. Since three pacers have been accommodated in the playing XI subsequently, Dube himself hasn’t bowled much, and nor has his batting enchanting in his opportunities inside these lines. That’s why, for the USA match, the team management is expected to include either Jaiswal or Sanju Samson as a replacement.
