IND vs IRE: Virat Kohli to open as Navjot Singh Sidhu names his India XI for Ireland clash in T20 World Cup 2024

Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu named his Team India XI for the first game of the T20 World Cup 2024 against Ireland. The match between the two teams will take place on 5th June at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

India will be taking on Ireland in their first game of the tournament. One of the major things that has kept many wondering is what will be the team’s XI for the first game, especially after how the Rohit Sharma-led side played in the warmup game against Bangladesh, which they won by 60 runs.

According to Navjot Singh Sidhu, India will be opening with Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma. Young batṭer Yashasvi Jaiswal didn’t come to open against Bangladesh and this was a big hint that southpaw won’t be opening, making way for Virat Kohli in the team at the top.

This comes after Virat Kohli had a sensational outing in the IPL 2024 as the opener for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The batter scored 741 runs and helped his team reach the playoffs of the tournament after losing 7 games in the first half.

At No.3, Navjot Singh Sidhu backed Suryakumar Yadav to play at No.3. The batter played at the same position in IPL and had a decent campaign. In the warmup game, where he batted at No.4, he had a good hit in the middle and would be high on confidence.

Rishabh Pant will be batting at No.4 in Navjot Singh Sidhu’s XI for the game against Ireland. The keeper-batter looked in magnificent touch in the warmup game and was the only batter from India to slam a half-century as he scored 53 runs.

Sidhu then backed Hardik Pandya at 5 as an all-rounder in the team along with Shivam Dube at 6 and Ravindra Jadeja at 7. The trio no doubt will be extremely important for the team in the T20 World Cup 2024 and a lot would be dependant on how they play in the tournament. He also picked Kuldeep Yadav as a spinner in the team.

Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are the two frontline pacers in the team picked by Navjot Sidhu for the first game against Ireland. Both the pacers looked in good touch in the warmup game and will be keen to make an impact in big games.

Navjot Singh Sidhu also believes that India should play extra spinner in the team for the game against Ireland. He stated that if the team wants to do that, they should play Yuzvendra Chahal, or else Mohammed Siraj should start in the XI for the first game against Ireland in New York.

Navjot Singh Sidhu’s playing 11 for the Indian team for the game against Ireland in T20 World Cup 2024

Here’s Navjot Singh Sidhu’s playing 11 for the Indian team for the game against Ireland

Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj/ Yuzvendra Chahal.