Irfan Pathan Highlights Three Questions India Need To Address In Warm-up Games Ahead Of World Cup

As India gears up to add final touches to their World Cup preparations, former allrounder Irfan Pathan believes the team still has some answers to find. Before launching their World Cup campaign next week, India will play a couple of warm-up games.

On September 30, the Men in Blue will lock horns against the reigning ODI world champions England at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Three days later, the Rohit Sharma-led side will be taking on the Netherlands at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

Irfan Pathan’s advice for Team India:

India have looked in good form in ODIs in recent weeks. They won the Asia Cup 2023 in style by registering impressive wins over the likes of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It was followed by a series win over five-time ODI world champions Australia. Team India are presently the number one ODI team in the world.

The performance and the rank might make many believe that the team is a settled unit but Irfan Pathan does not think so. The former cricketer believes India will have to address as many as three questions during the first warm-up game against England.

Speaking on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan began by saying that the first question that India needs to address is the final playing XI. The former cricketer-turned-commentator believes that India still have not finalized their playing eleven for the World Cup.

Speaking further, Irfan Pathan said that India also needs to finalize their bowling attack before opining that the team will also have to sort out the middle-order conundrum where four batsmen are in contention for the no.4 and no.5 spots. He finished by saying that Ravindra Jadeja’s performance with the bat at no.7 will also be very crucial for the team.

Watch:

With #TeamIndia entering the #CWC2023 scheduled to face England in their first warm-up fixture, @IrfanPathan answers 3 crucial questions that ?? needs to tackle to achieve the #GreatestGlory in every #BestvsBest clash! ?

Do you agree?#WorldCupOnStar #Cricket pic.twitter.com/jGMfG4YlIP

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) September 29, 2023

The ODI World Cup is scheduled to be played from October 5 to November 19. Defending champions England and New Zealand will be up against each other in the tournament opener at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. After the two warm-up games, India will open their World Cup campaign on October 8 against Australia in Chennai.