T20 World Cup 2024: Sanju Samson replaces Virat Kohli at No.3 in India's playing XI picked by Abhinav Mukund

Former India cricketer Abhinav Mukund picked his best Indian playing XI for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and made a shocking pick in the form of Sanju Samson at no. 3.

Abhinav Mukund's India playing XI is perhaps the most unique and different from most of the XIs picked by other expert pundits. Most of them backed Rishabh Pant to be the starting wicket-keeper and appear at number 5 in the batting order. But Mukund not only chose to go with Sanju Samson but he also backed Samson to appear at number 3 and excluded Yashasvi Jaiswal entirely.

Abhinav Mukund's bizarre Indian playing XI

Abhinav Mukund's Indian playing XI for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is nothing less than a shocker. The former top-order batsman picked the most unique Indian top 3 batting order which other pundits did not even think of having.

The first major change he had in the XI was the exclusion of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is making it to every other pundit's eleven as the opening pair of Rohit Sharma.

Instead of Jaiswal, Abhinav Mukund picked Virat Kohli, who opens for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL, to pair along with skipper Rohit Sharma.

That means no Kohli at number 3 as Mukund backed Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson to appear at number 3 as the team's wicket-keeper batsman. It also means that there was no Rishabh Pant in his eleven.

At number 4, Mukund kept the usual choice of Suryakumar Yadav followed by CSK all-rounder Shivam Dube at number 5. His batting tail also went down to number 8 with Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya appearing at number 6, and CSK's Ravindra Jadeja at number 7.

Another pick that no one saw coming was the inclusion of Delhi Capitals' all-rounder Axar Patel (8), who is the only other finger spinner other than Jadeja. The last 3 players in his playing XI were chinaman Kuldeep Yadav at 9, left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh at 10 and frontline pacer Jasprit Bumrah as the number 11 player.

Much like Irfan Pathan and Tom Moody among others, Abhinav Mukund was not convinced by Mohammed Siraj's services to pair with Bumrah.

Fans on social media have given mixed reactions to Mukund's playing XI. One Sanju Samson fan feels that it is India's best possible XI while others pointed out the lack of a left-hand batter in the top.

Abhinav Mukund's predicted playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah

India's schedule for the T20 World Cup 2024

The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 starts from June 1 onwards with a clash between hosts USA and neighbors Canada in Dallas. The Indian team will begin their campaign on 5th June against Ireland before going against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 9.

India's final 2 group matches will see them play hosts USA on June 12 and Canada on June 15th. All of India's group games will get underway at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York.