With the goal of ending its 11-year wait for an ICC trophy, Team India will kick off its campaign in the T20 World Cup next month. Prior to the competition, there is a lot of conjecture over India’s selection tactics, and one of the main points of contention is the starting lineup for the team. The main topic of discussion is Virat Kohli, who has been a brilliant opener for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the current Indian Premier League, scoring 708 runs in 14 innings.

Despite his outstanding run total, there are concerns about his strike rate at the top of the order, which has sparked debate about whether he should continue to start games for the national side. Former captain of Australia Ricky Ponting claims that Along with captain Rohit Sharma, Kohli will be one of the first picks for the Indian team and begin the batting.

“Yashasvi Jaiswal is in that squad, and one thing they don’t have a lot of in their team is left-hand batters,” Ponting said to ICC. “They (selectors) still have a decision to make.”

“They have to decide with Jaiswal, but I think they’ll go with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as openers.”

While going into great depth regarding the criticism that Kohli receives, Ponting maintained that India must surround him with the “right guys” who can play aggressively. With Virat, it’s humorous. I believe that some in India are constantly looking for an excuse not to choose him or a reason why he might not be as talented as some of these other players in the Twenty20 game.

In my opinion, Kohli is my top choice for India.

“At the top, he can fulfil his function. With the right players surrounding him, such as Suryakumar Yadav, who can score runs, Rohit Sharma is bound to have a good strike rate. The other guys are free to enter and conduct themselves there.

Not as effective as experience and class

Undoubtedly, Kohli’s exceptional consistency has strengthened his argument for the opening position. The seasoned Indian hitter has performed at a noticeably greater strike rate in the last four IPL games. In RCB’s group-stage victory over Punjab Kings, he struck for 92 runs off of only 47 balls. He also set the tone for his team’s crucial 42-run opening partnership against Chennai Super Kings. He currently has an overall strike percentage of 155.60 in the competition.

Ponting emphasised that it is challenging to replace a player like Kohli since he is one of the guys who gets the “job done.”

“I recall this conversation and a few more that I had with the ICC regarding the rumours that Virat wasn’t on their team last year, but when the big games rolled around, he was among the players who performed well,” Ponting said.

“Therefore, you cannot replace that kind of class and experience.”

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By the time the next IPL begins, MS Dhoni will be approaching 44. Is there another season left in him? Though it seems implausible, you can never tell with Dhoni. Although there have been rumours regarding Dhoni’s IPL retirement for the past few editions, the renowned keeper-batter is still going strong. His unparalleled physical condition is the main cause of that. While the CSK management has repeatedly acknowledged during IPL 2024 that Dhoni’s dodgy knee won’t allow him to bat for long, the Impact Player rule has undoubtedly helped the former captain wait until the final four overs to come out and bat. Nevertheless, Dhoni has given it his all both with the bat and behind the stumps.

Because Dhoni had knee surgery last year, CSK has been able to control his workload this season. There were still a few deliveries before he batted.

Nevertheless, he scored astronomical amounts in 14 games. Dhoni scored 161 runs with a strike rate of 220.55 and an average of 53.67.

He gave it his all in CSK’s crucial victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru, scoring 25 runs off of 13 balls, but he was unable to lead them to victory. CSK finished sixth in the IPL 2024 points standings after being eliminated from the playoffs.

In a video posted on the Dubai Eye 103.8 YouTube page on Monday, Dhoni emphasised the value of maintaining physical fitness. The two-time World Cup winning captain stated that if you want to play at the greatest level, you have no choice but to maintain your physical fitness because age is not a factor.

“The hardest thing is that I don’t get to play cricket all year round. Thus, I must be in shape. You will be up against young, fit players of international cricket once I arrive. A professional athlete’s journey is not simple, and age is not an excuse. You have to be just as fit as the other person to play. You don’t really get that grace as you get older. Thus, dietary patterns, some exercise, and all of those things are present. Thankfully, I don’t use social media, so there are fewer distractions.”

Dhoni said, “Once I quit international cricket…,”

Dhoni added that he missed spending time with his family during the height of his cricket career, when he was involved in all formats of the game, because he was constantly preoccupied with cricket, endorsements, etc. He also talked about how having dogs relieved his stress and allowed him to stay focused.

“I wanted to spend a little more time with my family after I retired from playing cricket internationally. However, to maintain focus and be cognitively engaged at the same time—I enjoy farming, riding motorcycles, and I’ve just developed an interest in classic vehicles. These items help me to relax. When I’m stressed, I might go to the garage and spend a few hours there. When I return, I’ll be OK,” he stated.

“Having a pet, whether a dog or a cat, has always made me feel like I grew up with… But I like dogs better. They love you without conditions. As I mentioned in a previous interview, my dog always greets me the same manner after I return from a game loss,” Dhoni continued.

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As if Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya’s frustrations from the 2024 Indian Premier League weren’t enough. The all-rounder suffered a blow even before clubs could begin planning for the upcoming campaign. Hardik’s punishment for keeping a slow over rate in MI’s final game of the season against the Lucknow Super Giants meant that, BCCI stated late on Friday night, he would not be eligible to participate in the opening game of the next season.

“Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians captain, has been fined after his team maintained a slow over rate during their TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on May 17,” the BCCI stated.

Since MI doesn’t have any more games this season, the suspension will start at the first game of the following one. Even if MI chooses to continue using Hardik as their permanent captain, they will need to play a fresh captain for their tournament debut the following year.

After Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant, Hardik became the second player this year to get a suspension for an overrate offence. Similar to Pant, Hardik received a one-match suspension for committing his third overrate infraction of the season. The MI players, including the Impact Player versus LSG, were fined ₹12 Lakh, or 50% of their respective match costs, and the MI captain was also fined ₹30 lakh.

“Pandya was fined INR 30 lakhs and prohibited from playing in the team’s next game since it was his team’s third infringement of the season in relation to minimum over rate violations under the IPL’s Code of Conduct. The Impact Player and the other members of the Playing XI were each fined INR 12 lakhs or half of their respective match costs, whichever was lower, according to the BCCI.

MI’s disappointing season with Pandya

As captain and a player for MI this season, Pandya had an unmemorable campaign. In 14 matches, he scored a pitiful average of 18 runs, totaling only 218 runs. Despite taking 11 wickets, his economy rate of 10.75 was quite concerning. As a captain, he was unable to motivate the team, and as a result, the five-time winners finished bottom in the standings with only four victories in 14 games.

With great enthusiasm, Pandya returned to the MI lineup, although the club won just four of his fourteen games as captain.”It was really challenging. In the end, our poor cricketing performance cost us the entire season,” Pandya remarked following MI’s 18-run defeat to the Lucknow Super Giants.

It’s a world of professionals. We must constantly present ourselves in the best possible light. However, collectively, we were unable to play intelligent or high-caliber cricket.”

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