Suresh Raina, former India player reckons that the Men in Blue under the leadership of Rohit Sharma will do well in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. India will be facing Pakistan on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Suresh Raina talked to Times Now and said, “Patake toh chalenge. Delhi mein bohot chalega. Poore India mein chalege. Pakistan did really well in the last World Cup against us. and credit goes to Babar. India needs to have an intent and fearless approach as that's what we did in the past, that's why I did in the past. It is not a normal game, I have played it before and there will be a lot of pressure on the boys but I think we have the upper hand”.
"The pressure comes from your family, friends, and fans. We need to respect this sport. Anyone can win, it's a 50-50 game. Rohit Sharma has that extra edge, he is a smarter captain. Virat Kohli is in great touch and it needs to continue. On 23rd October, everything will fall into place. After that, it is Diwali; we will see them," Raina added.
The former left-hander also spoke about Hardik Pandya and stated, “Hardik Pandya will be crucial as he will bowl in the powerplay and he will bat like MS Dhoni. He will be the game-changer in the middle order but we need to fire from the top and someone needs to bat for the first 15 overs”.
According to Raina, teams like India, Australia, and England will make it to the semi-finals.
India squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami.