Dale Steyn picked his India’s playing XI: With only two days left for the Indian cricket team to kickstart their journey in the 2021 T20 World Cup with a blockbuster clash against arch-rivals Pakistan, several cricketers and experts are coming up with their playing XI for the marquee clash. The latest one to join the bandwagon is former South African cricketer Dale Steyn.
Dale Steyn, recently, came up with his India’s playing XI for the blockbuster clash against Pakistan. For the opening position, Dale Steyn picked KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma to open the innings for India. They were followed by the Indian skipper Virat Kohli at number third position in Steyn’s playing XI. Suryakumar Yadav, who recently made a comeback to his form, was picked at number fourth position.
At number 5th, Dale Steyn picked Indian keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, followed by the star all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Picking him, Steyn urged the Indian skipper Virat Kohli to include Pandya in the playing XI even if he is not fit to bowl.
For the unversed, Hardik’s situation has become one of the most talked-about topics among the cricket fraternity. Pandya hasn’t bowled a single over in the last two editions of the IPL. He was expected to return back to bowling in the warm-up games, however, the fans were left disappointed
Dale Steyn hailed Hardik Pandya as a game-changer with the bat and should play even if it is as a specialist batsman. He said:
“Look, he’s a game-changer. That’s the big thing. He is a gamechanger whether he’s got bat or ball in his hand, specifically with that bat actually. He hasn’t bowled a lot lately, at all to be honest. I would pick him purely on his batting alone.”
He added:
“After the current form that he has had, it’s a bit touch and go but he is a fantastic player. And teams will know that. So, when he comes out to bat, teams will have to prepare accordingly because Hardik Pandya can take the game away from you quite easily with the bat.”
Steyn also picked Ravindra Jadeja as his second all-rounder in the team. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, and Varun Chakravarthy were picked in his bowling attack.
Steyn’s India 11 vs Pakistan: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, and Varun Chakravarthy
