India go into ICC World T20 2016 as huge favourites having won 10 out of the 11 T20I matches played this calendar year. The MS Dhoni-led side will be hoping to lift the title after suffering a final loss against Sri Lanka in the last edition of the tournament.
Going into the tournament, the Men in Blue have quite a settled team. Rohit Sharma has been one of the most consistent limited-overs batsmen over the last couple of years. On the other hand, Sharma’s opening partner Shikhar Dhawan was the Man of the Match in the Asia Cup final against Bangladesh.
The Indian team have World T20 2014’s Player of the Tournament Virat Kohli leading their middle order, which includes left-handers Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh. Dhoni, who looked like his old self during the Asia Cup, will be expected to be one of the finishers of the side along with all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.
The bowling is expected to be opened by Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah, with the returning Mohammed Shami as their back-up. Ravichandran Ashwin will be the lead spinner for the Indian team and his performances will go a long way in determining if India can win the tournament.
India won the first ever edition of the World T20 in 2007 in South Africa. In the next three editions – 2009, 2010, 2012 – they faltered at the Super 8 stage before a stupendous team performance saw them reach the final in 2014 unbeaten before losing to Sri Lanka.
Indian squad for T20 World Cup 2016
MS Dhoni (c), Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Pawan Negi, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Shami, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah.
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