Championing T20 cricket: India's resolve to break World Cup title drought

In the evergrowing Twenty20 cricket landscape India boasts the richest and mostwatched league in the world Yet all that investment and attention hasnt translated into international success for Indias national teamRohit Sharmas India squad travels to the T20 World Cup 2024 in the United States and Caribbean hunting a second title to end a long droughtUndoubtedly the Indian Premier League is flush with cash and talent attracting the best cricketers worldwideSince the advent of IPL though India hasnt lifted the World Cup trophyAfter winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 India has only reached one more final losing to Sri Lanka in 2014The title drought crosses formats too India last won an International Cricket Council title in 2013 the Champions Trophy in England It last lifted the Cricket World Cup in the 50over format in 2011Last year was exceptional in that sense India lost the World Test Championship final to Australia in England and a few months later also lost the 50over World Cup final to Australia this time on home soilThat caused major anguish in a cricketmad country of 14 billion considering India was on a 100 winning streak and a hot favourite going into the finalSeven months later Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli are leading the campaign in what in all probability will be their last T20 tournament in Indias blueSharma has been a part of every Indian squad at the T20 World Cup Kohli debuted in the 2012 edition making this his sixth attempt at the titleKohli has scored 1141 runs at an average of 8150 and strikerate 13130 in his 27 games at the tournament Sharma has scored 963 runs in 39 games at a strike rate of 12788Also ReadMatchwinner Starcs undefeated record in title clashes across all formatsBoth players missed all of Indias T20 internationals between the 2022 semifinal loss in Australia and January of this year leading to some speculation theyd miss out on the 2024 World Cup starting June 1That was dispelled by both BCCI secretary Jay Shah and chief selector Ajit Agarkar Now there will be a big focus on their contributions iquest in terms of runs and strike rateSharma only managed 417 runs for Mumbai Indians in the clubs unsuccessful 2024 IPL campaignKohli meanwhile topped the run charts for Royal Challengers Bengaluru with 741 runs in 15 matches averaging 6175 But his strike rate earlier in the season was criticized by some TV broadcast analystsIn a news conference to confirm the India squad Agarkar brushed off any concerns regarding Kohlis strike rateTheres a difference between IPL and international cricket Agarkar said You need experience as the pressure of a World Cup game is different You only try to take positives from what is happening in the IPLKohli opens the batting for his IPL franchise but goes in at No 3 for India in T20s It has led to a significant debate over his batting position for the World Cup because it holds the key to Indias XIShould Kohli continue to bat at No 3 Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the innings with Sharma India will then have to play with only four specialist batters including Suryakumar Yadav the worlds topranked T20 batterAlso ReadlsquoKorbo Lorbo Jeetbo rersquo done rightAllrounder Hardik Pandya and firstchoice wicketkeeperbatter Rishabh Pant would slot in next with bowling allrounders to followIf Kohli opens with Sharma it allows for an extra batter in the middle order and likely makes room for Shivam Dube who has impressed selectors with his power hitting in the IPL and a strike rate of 16229Dube can also bowl useful medium pace if needed and could provide backup to PandyaPace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will lead a bowling attack containing four spinners including leftarm allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzendra Chahal complete the lineupI asked for four spinners Sharma explained Most of our matches will start at 1011 am and we expect allrounders to do a job for us It gives us a variety of combinations to explore depending on the oppositionIndia begins its T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Ireland on June 5 then faces fierce rival Pakistan in New York on June 9 in what could be the highlight of the group stage India will play the US on June 12 and Canada on June 15While it is a seemingly straightforward road for India in the first round the tension to end a prolonged title drought will grow once it reaches the West Indies for the Super Eight stageWith agency inputs