T20 World Cup 2024: Shivam Dube backed to take Virat Kohli's No.3 position as Harbhajan Singh makes huge selection call

Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh wants Virat Kohli to facilitate a move down the order at number 4 so that Shivam Dube can arrive to bat at number 3 for the Men in Blue. 

Harbhajan Singh came up with this idea for the Indian team with respect to their playing XI for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 later this June. Virat Kohli and Shivam Dube are both going to be a part of the 15-man squad that will travel to the USA and West Indies.

India's core team almost set for the T20 World Cup 2024

Virat Kohli and Shivam Dube are expected to be a core part of the Indian team for the World Cup along with Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal among others. Elsewhere, Rishabh Pant is expected to keep the wickets and appear in the middle-order, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to be the all-rounders of the team. And don't forget Suryakumar Yadav either. 

Jasprit Bumrah will be the frontline pacer with Siraj and Arshdeep Singh while Kuldeep Yadav will be the only recognized wrist-spinner in the side. The Indian selection committee is in line to announce the 15-man squad by the start of next month. By then, they would have assessed all the options through their performances in the 2024 Indian Premier League season.

Every single player, whether capped or uncapped, is giving their all to ensure the Ajit Agarkar-led committee notices them. But two players who have already proved their cases for the T20 World Cup are Virat Kohli and Shivam Dube. Both of their teams have had a contrasting IPL season but runs have come fluently from their bats. 

Virat Kohli is currently leading the Orange cap race with 430 runs from 9 matches as Bengaluru's opener at a strike rate of 145, including a century and 3 fifties. Shivam Dube on the other hand has scored 311 runs from 8 matches for the CSK at a daunting strike rate of 169.95. He is averaging 51.83 and has scored the same amount of half-centuries as Kohli. 

So without a shadow of doubt, both Shivam Dube and Virat Kohli are going to be playing together in the T20 World Cup and a lot will depend on them. 

Harbhajan Singh says Kohli will put his team first

During a conversation with Star Sports recently, Harbhajan Singh discussed the team combination and playing XI composition of team India in the World Cup. Harbhajan said that he wants to see a left-right hand combination in the middle. He claimed that if a dynamic batter like Shivam Dube is available in the team, then he would want to see him come above Virat Kohli. 

The 2007 T20 WC winner felt that it would be best for India to have Dube come in at 3 and ask Kohli to be demoted to number 4. It will be something that the latter won't mind doing since the needs of the team come first, said Harbhajan Singh. 

"I would like to see a left-right combination at the top. If 6-7 overs are played, and if we have a player like Shivam Dube, he can walk in at no.3. Kohli can then walk in at 4. We have to take the horses-for-courses approach here, and there’s no disrespect in that. Kohli is a great player, whether he plays at no.3 or 4, the team comes first. Even if you ask him this question, he will say the team comes first," Harbhajan Singh said via Star Sports.