India open against gutsy Ireland in renewed quest for World Cup glory

Sceptics call them old wine in new bottle but a clutch of superstar Indian cricketers would leave no stone unturned to break away from their archaic template when they take on a plucky Ireland in their opening game of the T20 World Cup 2024 on WednesdayThe team knows that it is a touch undercooked with a lot of confusion still persisting about what could be the best T20 World Cup 2024 combination on a dropin virgin strip As is clear from the games so far scoring wont be a walk in the park like it was during the Indian Premier League the last couple of monthsBut the bigger concern is the baggage of being favourites who dont really make it count in the endRohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have individually laid their hands on global silverware but an assortment of some other once in generation cricketers including Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have not and they would be eager to finally lift oneThis Indian cricket team wouldnt want to be the Brazil football team of 1982 and 86 when global stars like Socrates Zico Careca Falcao and Alemao couldnt win the FIFA trophyThe most poignant sight of last years ODI World Cup was a forlorn Rohit after the final desperately trying to hide his welledup eyes from the TV cameras as he quietly climbed the steps of the Narendra Modi Stadium dressing roomThere was also Kohli who after scoring those 765 invaluable runs could only get a fleeting blank gaze towards the podium where the trophy was keptThe best players sometimes dont add up to become the best team and while India have put faith in their most experienced lot it cant be simply wished away that this current batch has faltered at the final two hurdles way too many timesAlso ReadSkipper Rohitrsquos big testAt 37 this could safely be termed as Rohits last World Cup in the whiteball format as one doesnt have to be Nostradamus to predict that he wont be around for the next T20 World Cup in India and the 50over World Cup in South Africa in 2027A very gutsy Irish team with some quality T20 players like Paul Stirling Josh Little Harry Tector Andy Balbirnie awaits India in the lungopenerOn a slow track and a substandard outfield at the Nassau County ground how India plays against Irish leftarm spinner George Dockrell will be interestingWhere India hold the advantage is their spinners who are way better compared to what the Irish team have though the pace attack aside from Bumrah looks a bit weak in absence of the redoubtable Mohammed ShamiOften having too many options isnt the best option just like Indians have at the top To fit in skipper Rohit and teams most elite batter in Kohli they have to probably sacrifice Yashasvi JaiswalRishabh Pants batting at No3 in the practice game was like a breath of fresh air and Hardik Pandyas bowling form will indicate how India fares in this competitionAt the Cantiague Park nets on Monday Pandya spent considerable time bowling to Kohli Suryakumar Yadav and RohitIf he can bowl at least three overs every day the Indian team can also look to play Shivam Dube and include an extra spinner in the lineupLike earlier days Ireland isnt exactly a minnow in this format and very recently they have beaten Pakistan in their own den in the runup to the World CupLittle has more than little experience of playing IPL for Gujarat Titans and the troika of Balbirnie Stirling and Tector can more than chance their armsThe Green Shirts will be the banana peel that Rohit and his men can illafford to slip on before they meet the more famous Green Jerseys at the weekendIND vs IRE SquadsIndia Rohit Sharma captain Virat Kohli Rishabh Pant wk Suryakumar Yadav Hardik Pandya Shivam Dube Ravindra Jadeja Axar Patel Kuldeep Yadav Jasprit Bumrah Arshdeep Singh Mohammed Siraj Yashasvi Jaiswal Sanju Samson Yuzvendra ChahalIreland Paul Stirling captain Mark Adair Ross Adair Andy Balbirnie Curtis Campher Gareth Delany George Dockrell Graham Hume Josh Little Barry McCarthy Neil Rock wk Harry Tector Lorcan Tucker wk Ben White Craig YoungWith agency inputs