India squad for T20 World Cup Live updates: Should Virat Kohli open for India? Likely 15 to be announced on Monday

“By popular consensus of the panel, I’ve got Virat there. I’ve got to have him in the powerplay. If I’m going to pick him, he has to play in the powerplay. He has to play the majority of those six overs as an opener, because Yashasvi does deserve to be there in my opinion, and it will be a left and right hand combination which will be a huge bonus, and that’s why I say it’s such a pivotal selection, this. Who would have even thought that we would be having this conversation about the greatest player in India, maybe ever. So it all comes down to are we interested in selecting a side that we believe is the right balance and is going to win this world cup.” – Hayden on Star Sports

“See, as far as I’m concerned, Indian openers should be Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, purely because of the right-hand and left-hand combination. Don’t forget Yashasvi Jaiswal’s international strike rate is 160 and you need that, you need that firepower. If Virat opens up the batting, what happens is that it will allow the combination of 11 to be in a certain way, which you want. If that happens, you might see Shivam Dubey playing, if he’s there in the squad. You might see guys like Rinku Singh in the playing 11 as well. But if Virat bats at number three, that might not happen. So that’s a big challenge. The other thing, if Yashasvi Jaiswal is playing, what can happen as he’s actually been bowling regularly in the nets. So what you can do is you can actually play proper five bowlers and maybe have him as a sixth bowler, as an option to keep it. Otherwise, if you look at the batting order, no one bowls. No one bowls in top six and that’s the biggest challenge what we have as Indian cricket. And that’s what we need to consider that as well. So for me, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma and then Virat bats at number three.” – Pathan on Star Sports.

The reason is simple. Besides his rather impressive numbers in the powerplay, which includes a scoring rate of 8.74 against the new ball and getting a boundary every 4.22 balls; and his struggles in the middle overs, as witnessed in that knock of 51 against SRH, Kohli’s role as opener will subsequently offer India the opportunity to include one between Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh or even both the power-hitters. 

Rohit Sharma – Runs – 303; Matches – 8; Strike rate – 162. 90; Powerplay scoring rate – 10.5 runs per over 

Yashasvi Jaiswal – Runs – 225; Matches – 8; Strike rate – 157.34; Powerplay scoring rate – 9.12 runs per over 

Virat Kohli – Runs – 430; Matches – 9; Strike rate – 145.76; Powerplay scoring rate – 9.3 runs per over 

Shubman Gill – Runs – 304; Matches – 9; Strike rate – 146.14; Powerplay scoring rate – 7.98 runs per over 

KL Rahul – Runs – 302; Matches – 8; Strike rate – 141.12; Powerplay scoring rate – 8.94 runs per over 

Ishan Kishan – Runs – 192; Matches – 8; Strike rate – 168.42; Powerplay scoring rate – 10.14 runs per over 

Abhishek Sharma – Runs – 196; Matches – 6; Strike rate – 220.22; Powerplay scoring rate – 14.04 runs per over

According to a report in PTI, chairman of national selection committee Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma are expected to have an informal meeting in the national capital on a possible 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup. It is understood, Agarkar specially flew into Delhi for Saturday’s IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals as he would also get a chance to chat up with Rohit and get a clarity before he sits with his colleagues to pick the final team.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Team India’s 15-member squad announcement by the BCCI. Stay tuned for more updates!