They’re in strong position, death bowling is a concern, says Dinesh Karthik on India’s form ahead of T20 WC

New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes that defending champions India are in a ‘strong position’ heading into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7, but raised concerns over the team’s bowling in the death overs, stating that the Men in Bl;ue ‘stack up their XI.’

India have undergone a handful of changes between the two T20 World Cups, but the style of cricket displayed by Suryakumar Yadav & Co. remains a strong asset as they prepare to defend their title.

“The Indian team is in a very strong position at the moment. As we sit here, they’ve won 29 out of the 36 matches they’ve played in T20 cricket post the World Cup, which is a phenomenal record to have. In a very fickle format like T20, where upsets are the norm, this level of consistency is remarkable,” Karthik shared his thoughts on Team India form ahead of the ICC tournament while speaking on JioStar.

“Winning 29 out of the last 36 games they’ve played is, I feel, very hard to replicate. For starters, it tells you about the strength of the team. They’ve also played a very good Asia Cup in the recent past and went past Pakistan in the final, beating them three out of three times. If you look at the depth of this group, there’s India, there’s Pakistan, and then there are three associate nations who are still finding their feet at the international level.”

“You would expect India or Pakistan to beat them, but the beauty of this format is that you can’t walk into any game thinking it’s going to be easy. You lose the toss, you’re bowling, and suddenly you’re thinking this could be challenging at the back end. You need to get an above-par score to give yourself a chance to defend under dew. So, I would say India are in a very good place,” he added.

The Indian team will face New Zealand in five T20Is, and the series will serve as a preparatory one for both teams before they kick off their World Cup campaign. However, the cricketer-turned commentator believes that the hosts will face challenges with their bowling unit in the death overs and highlighted their ‘stacked playing XI’ as a reason.

“Death bowling is a concern. I think it’s a challenge because of the way they stack up their eleven. When they’ve played in the subcontinent, they’ve gone with Bumrah, Hardik as the second pacer, and Shivam Dube as the third, while backing their spinners heavily. At times, when the game goes deep, especially when they’re defending a total, the back end can become a challenge,” he stated.

--IANS

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