With the ninth T20 World Cup just a few days away, skipper Rohit Sharma and teammate Rahul Dravid’s final chance to win the coveted ICC trophy are fast approaching for the Indian cricket team. When his contract ends at the end of the tournament, coach Dravid will not be pursuing an extension with the squad, so although Rohit won the T20 World Cup in its inaugural edition 17 years ago, for him it’s an if not now, then never scenario.

Though opinions may differ, Rohit, Dravid, and Ajit Agarkar, the head of selectors for the BCCI, think that this is the greatest team India could have put together of 15 players for the World Cup. Along with Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Virat Kohli, Rohit is back. Yashasvi Jaiswal is the thrilling opener, while Sanju Samson, along with Rishabh Pant, has finally been selected as one of the wicketkeepers, paying his dues. Hardik Pandya is the team’s designated vice-captain, despite Shivam Dube’s rapid rise to prominence at the cost of Rinku Singh, who has been a disaster with the bat and the ball as well as the Mumbai Indians captain. With a group of their calibre, you would support them to win every manner, correct? Correct?

Well, the combined efforts of the Indians might not be sufficient if former Australia Test captain Tim Paine is to be believed. According to Paine, Kohli needs to perform better than everyone else if India is to have a chance in the World Cup. In fact, according to Paine, who discussed this theory with fellow Australians Aaron Finch and Michael Clarke on the “Around the Wicket” podcast, the likelihood that India will win the World Cup depends directly on Kohli having a fantastic campaign and vice versa.

“Until Virat Kohli has a really strong World Cup, something akin to Glenn Maxwell’s form, I cannot see India winning the World Cup.” Paine compared Kohli to Maxwell and said, “I know he hasn’t been playing well lately, but I can’t see Australia winning the World Cup unless Maxwell has a blinder.”

Is Tim Paine’s comparison accurate?

But the modern incarnations of Kohli and Maxwell are as different as chalk and cheese. While Maxwell has performed incredibly well, Kohli has lit up the IPL 2024 with over 500 runs, including a century to hold the Orange Cap. IPL 2024 has been Maxwell’s lowest season with just 36 runs from 8 matches at a pitiful average of 5.14. The only things keeping RCB in the running for the Playoffs are Rajat Patidar and Kohli, and their matchup against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday is a knockout.

Returning to Paine, Kohli appears to be back to his best. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, he scored the most runs (296 from six matches at an average of 98.66) and in the ODI World Cup in India last year (765 from 11 games at an average of 95.62), he was the top run scorer in both competitions. However, as past events have shown, leading the team in runs scored alone is insufficient to win the championship. This might be Kohli’s final T20 World Cup at age 35 because he will be 37 in the next tournament. Although he hasn’t yet won a T20 World Cup, Kohli will like to repeat his RCB performance for the Men in Blue on June 5, when India kicks off their campaign against Ireland.

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Perhaps he has moved on from the IPL. It’s possible that he is already preparing for the T20 World Cup, which begins in two weeks. Perhaps the events of the past few months, including the controversial change in leadership within his organisation, are having an impact. Regardless matter the cause, Rohit Sharma’s performance has drastically declined over the past 25 days, raising some eyebrows as the major event approaches.

The skipper of India has amassed 349 runs in 13 innings at an average of 29.08 and a strike rate of 145.41, which doesn’t seem bad. He hasn’t scored as many runs in a single event since 2021, and this season’s scoring pace is the quickest since the 2008 season, when he scored 147.98 runs per 100 balls faced. However, statistics only provide us only half the story, as they always do.

Rohit had an amazing first month of performance, but his returns have been dreadfully low after then. 297 runs in his first seven innings have been followed by a paltry 52 in his last six, in a season of radically different halves. A torturous, laborious, and unedifying 24-ball stay in the Eden Gardens on Saturday resulted in four single-digit scores, with a maximum of 19, attesting to unwavering difficulties. In addition to his lack of runs, Rohit hasn’t seemed to be “in the mood,” if you will, which has resulted in his clumsy attempt to force the bowler to make a mistake early in the innings.

Because of Rohit’s sharp decline in form and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s ongoing struggles (almost half of his 348 runs have come in two innings alone), two of India’s three possible openers—Virat Kohli being the third—go into the World Cup with little confidence or momentum. In the spirit of balance, Jaiswal will almost certainly warm the bench. Rohit and Virat Kohli, who has been outstanding throughout the campaign and is the clear front-runner for the Orange Cap, will start for India. But Rohit has to get over this slow start and get going when India kick off their World Cup campaign, both for the sake of the team and maybe more significantly for his personal sake. on June 5 in New York vs Ireland.

The captain’s impact on India’s incredible run in the 50-over home World Cup in October and November is still too recent to be thoroughly discussed. It’s enough to say that his fast pace forced opponents to defend, giving players like Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (before his injury), and Ravindra Jadeja the freedom to play with unrestricted aggressiveness. Even in the championship match, where India lost to Australia by six wickets, Rohit opened the scoring with his usual fiery 31-ball 47; however, his dismissal in the tenth over robbed the Indians of their fluency and ultimately saw them bowled out for 240, which proved to be a remarkably insufficient total.

India needs Rohit to be sharp and productive at the World Cup. It is anticipated that most US and Caribbean sites would have slower surfaces, which will increase the significance of frantic beginnings against the new ball. When India travels to the Americas, they will need Rohit, the 50-over World Cup enforcer, to return. Leading by example is the strongest motivation for a team, and Rohit has done just that throughout his two years in charge.

Although Rohit has remained silent and attempted to cover behind flimsy humour whenever the subject has come up, it’s clear that he doesn’t like how he was removed from his position as captain of a team that he helped win five IPL championships. None of that lingering, residual, sour aftertaste will be an unwanted companion when he is back in the blue of India for what would undoubtedly be his final T20 World Cup. Before he leaves with a few of his friends from eliminated teams for the Americas early next week, Rohit has one last game to prove himself against the Lucknow Super Giants at his beloved Wankhede on Friday. Significant runs won’t be harmful, and nobody is aware of that more clearly than Rohit does.

But come World Cup time, one can count on a focused, dedicated Rohit. Now that he’s back in control, he won’t require reminding that he has to grab the reins as the leader. Yes, this prolonged slump is a persistent concern. Rohit has the responsibility to make sure that’s all that’s left.

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The Lucknow Super Giants’ hopes of making the IPL 2024 playoffs were badly damaged by their loss to the Delhi Capitals yesterday night. LSG may not be eliminated officially with 12 points from 13 games, but their chances are slim to none. They play their final match on Friday against the Mumbai Indians in a knockout match, and with the Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Sunrisers Hyderabad looming, even a victory there may not be enough. According to Mohammad Kaif, LSG and its skipper KL Rahul made a critical error that cost them the game on Tuesday against the Capitals. A victory might have gone a long way.

The former Indian batsman criticised Rahul for choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, highlighting the competition’s high scoring format. Rahul made a tactical blunder, which Kaif called out, and the team that batted first scored more than 200 runs in total. However, IPL 2024 has proven to be a season in which no total is guaranteed. Even though they gave up 208, LSG had a tiny window of opportunity because to Arshad Khan’s explosive half-century. But those were eventually put out as DC needed to win by 19 runs to remain in the game.

“Remove and discard the video analyst’s PC. They chose not to use any figures. Here, 200 has not been pursued in any way. I’ll give you the figures for this year. The squad that bats first has won each of the last four games. “You declared that you would field first after winning the toss,” Kaif stated on Star Sports.

“The choice made at the toss was the biggest error… There will thus also be a question mark over the bowling. With this match, Lucknow had everything to gain. It seemed to me that Lucknow’s concert was a complete failure.”

Chopra mocks the batting of LSG

Rahul was the target of criticism from more than only Kaif. Though not because of his leadership, Rahul’s former India teammate Aakash Chopra wasn’t exactly fond of him either. Chopra was frustrated with Rahul and the team’s batting misfortunes as a whole, as they failed miserably to chase 209 to win. LSG’s top order was destroyed at 44/4, and things would have gone far worse if Nicholas Pooran hadn’t made a valiant 61 off 27 with six boundaries and four sixes.

Marcus Stoinis and Rahul each scored five, but Quinton de Kock’s poor performance continued with a dozen. Ayush Badoni’s six was what Deepak Hooda was hoping to win. In an innings that finally gave up, LSG’s batting was disorganised. In the end, the fact that the LSG did not go out completely turned out to be a godsend, as the run rate became important in the last week of the league matches for the 2024 Indian Premier League.

“What kind of batting are you doing when Lucknow comes to bat? Due to Quinton de Kock’s poor bat technique, KL Rahul was out for five. Then (Marcus) Stoinis arrived, leaving him trapped in the midst. For zero, Deepak Hooda was out. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “What are you doing?”

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