Follow UsIndia will look to the next T20 World Cup as an opportunity to be the first team to win the title back-to-back and, moreover, become the first team to win it on home soil. For that to happen, a few players will have to play a massive role.
While Jasprit Bumrah has perennially been key for India across various tournaments, former all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin believes that it will be opening batter Abhishek Sharma and mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy who will be key for the team to retain the crown.
“If any team wants to win the T20 World Cup in India, they will have to master two factors. I was saying until now that handling Jasprit Bumrah. But I will say right now, the way I have seen Tim David handle Varun Chakaravarthy, I am thinking teams will gun for Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy if they have to get past India,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
In the recent series against Australia, Australia pulled the length back a little bit and also varied their pace to trouble the batters. Against Chakaravarthy, barring David, other batters did not seem to get a hang of him, as Ashwin suggested.
“Against Abhishek Sharma, they will see this plan Australia has used against him in this series, and they will imbibe that. Whoever is coming to the World Cup will prepare similarly against Varun Chakaravarthy because that will give them the leverage in that World Cup,” he added.
India will next be in action in a T20I against South Africa in Cuttack from December 9 onwards.