Top five 20-20 World Cup bound India players who are miserably out of form
Virat Kohli-Rishabh Pant (Image Source : BCCI/IPL)
The Indian T20 League has been the breeding ground for some of the most revolutionizing talents of Indian cricket. The national selectors have often gone on to pick players based on their performances in the cash-reach league.
With a T20 World Cup scheduled to take place later this year in Australia, the 15th edition of the Indian T20 League was an important one in what India’s team composition will be in the tournament. Having not won the title since the first edition of the T20 World Cup, India will look to cover all their bases going into the next edition.
Some of the Indian players who have been an integral part of the team are going through a rough patch in the ongoing season of the Indian T20 League. Here we take at five such players who are definitely in the scheme of India’s T20 World Cup plans but are not in the best of their forms.
5. Rishabh Pant: In the initial stages of his career Pant often faced criticism for his irresponsible batting. But as time went by, he changed his approach toward batting and developed himself into a match-winner for India. But in the 15th edition of the Indian T20 League, the south-paw has struggled to play impactful knocks.
In the nine innings that he has batted in the tournament, he has scored 260 runs at an average of 32.5 and a strike rate of 150.29. The stats read decent but he is not leaving up to the expectations. The fans have seen Rishabh changing the complexion of matches and winning them single-handedly. That’s what has been missing in his performance this year so far. The fans will hope that he finds back his mojo soon and contributes to Delhi’s efforts. That would also give relief to the national selectors.
4. Ravindra Jadeja: If there is a man who can do it all, it’s Ravindra Jadeja. He is a multi-dimensional player who contributes to his team in all the departments of the game. But in the latest edition of the Indian T20 League, he has looked like a shadow of himself.
In the 10 innings that he has batted in the tournament so far, he has scored only 116 runs at an average of 19.33 and a strike rate of 118.37. On the other hand, with the ball, he has just picked up five wickets at an average of 49.6.
The responsibility of captaincy might have affected his performances in the earlier part of the season. But with the responsibilities no more resting on him, Jadeja must look to express himself freely in the remaining matches and regain his form.
3. Ishan Kishan: Ishan Kishan made himself visible in the mainframe of Indian cricket with his explosive batting in the last few matches of the Indian T20 League 2021. His daring attitude and attacking batting earned him a contract of INR 15 Cr for the Indian T20 League 2022. But this year he has failed to live up to his expectations or the price tag.
He has played impressive knocks in the first two matches in the tournament, but after that completely lost his touch. He scored 135 runs in the first two matches, but since then he has managed to score another 135 runs from 8 matches. The fans will be hoping he regains his form and becomes a dynamic match-winning option for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
2. Rohit Sharma: Rohit Sharma is considered the most dangerous opener in white-ball cricket by many. He has played many a match-winning knock for India as well as his ITL franchise, Mumbai. But in the Indian T20 League 2022, he has failed to score big on a single occasion.
In the 10 matches he has played so far, Sharma has scored 198 runs at an average of 19.8 and a strike rate of 128.57. The stats are completely un-Rohit-like. Although he has not looked completely out of touch, it’s the conversation he is struggling with. With Mumbai already eliminated from the tournament, the fans will hope that he spends more time in the middle and expresses himself with more freedom to gain confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup.
1. Virat Kohli: The most indispensable name for any Indian squad going to play an important tournament is Virat Kohli. Unarguably he has been the most prolific run-scorer for India in the post-Tendulkar era. But in the last couple of years, he is finding it hard to score runs fluently.
In the Indian T20 League, he has scored 216 runs at an average of 21.6 and a strike rate of 11.92. In some of his dismissals, he has looked helpless and many have opined that he needs a reboot. Virat Kohli will be more than an important part of India’s plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Even in the last two knocks where he was to able score some runs; he did not look in touch. The fans will hope Kohli regains his form soon and plays his part in India’s campaign in the T20 World Cup.
