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After the completion of the five-match T20I series between India and South Africa, the discussion around India’s potential squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 has got much stronger. Many experts of the games have started giving their opinions regarding what could be the ideal combination for Team India in the global showpiece event.
Following the bandwagon, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has picked his best India XI for the 20-over tournament, which is set to take place in Australia from October 16 to November 13. Pathan went with star batters KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the top order of his World Cup playing XI. The Vadodra-born reckoned Kohli has a very good record in Australia, hence the former India skipper should be in the final XI.
“In Australia, you need powerful starts because the ball swings and seams a lot. So you need a player who has a lot of experience,” Pathan said on Star Sports.
“Kohli may not have performed well so far, but in Australia, he has scored a lot of runs,” he added.
Pathan picked Suryakumar Yadav along with two all-rounders, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, in the XI. The cricketer-turned-commentator made an interesting choice while picking the wicketkeeper. He went with veteran cricketer Dinesh Karthik instead of Rishabh Pant.
Notably, Karthik has made a sensational return to the national side in the recently-concluded T20I series against South Africa. Following an impressive season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Karthik received an India call-up for the T20I leg against the Proteas.
The Tamil Nadu batter repaid the selectors’ faith by staging India’s comeback. He played a blinder of a knock against South Africa in the 4th T20I to ensure India levelled the 5-match series 2-2 at Rajkot.
Irfan Pathan’s India XI for T20 World Cup 2022:
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah