“I was just trying to express myself when I went in to bat. The situation was very simple, I just had to up the tempo at that time. I took one ball today (to get going), but the message was loud and clear,” said Suryakumar.

India got off to a slow start after opener KL Rahul once again was dismissed cheaply but Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli more than made up for the slow start India got in the powerplay.

“We had to get about 8-10 an over and get a total which our bowlers could defend easily. Very happy with the way things went,” the 32-year-old added.

The India captain made way for Suryakumar after a well-made fifty and along with Kohli, both the Indian batters (Surya & Kohli) added 95* off 48 that helped India reach 179 at the end of 20 overs.

“Really enjoying batting with him (Kohli), the thoughts are very clear when we both are batting. If I get few boundaries earlier then our partnership needs to be stretched and that’s what we are doing.” Surya added further.

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Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up a knee injury during the Asia Cup 2022 and is still recovering from the surgery, misses out and Axar Patel takes his place as a like-for-like replacement. The selectors also opted for experience in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin, in absence of Jadeja.

The top-order picks itself with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav assured of a spot in the team, let alone the squad while Deepak Hooda has also been included. The selectors had a tricky selection in terms of who will keep wickets for India. Rishabh Pant’s form in the T20Is has not been great off late and leaving Dinesh Karthik out would always have been a tough call to make but the selectors have gone in with both the players for the World Cup.

Avesh Khan misses out and Mohammed Shami, who was also one of the contenders to make it to the team with the World Cup being held in Australia has been kept as stand by. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bumrah, and Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh make up the pace composition of the side with Hardik Pandya playing as an pace-bowling all-rounder.

T20 World Cup 2022 Squad, India: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Y Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, B Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh

Standby players – Mohd. Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar

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The All-India Senior Selection Committee met on Monday to pick India’s squads for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia and for the T20I series against Australia and South Africa at home.

India squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.

Standby players – Mohd. Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.

India Squad for Australia T20Is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd. Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah.

India squad for South Africa T20Is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah.

Note: Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be reporting to the NCA for conditioning-related work during the course of the home series against Australia and South Africa.

BCCI Press Release

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“I am extremely excited to be reuniting with the Pakistan team as their mentor for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia and can’t wait to join the culture again and feel the spirit of One Nation One Passion. I have seen how Pakistan have been performing in the ACC T20 Asia Cup and Sunday’s win over India was brilliant.

“I think this Pakistan side has got what it takes to excel in Australia and the conditions will really suit them, both from a batting and bowling perspective. This team has all of its bases covered and I am sure it will light up the World Cup as it did in the UAE last year.

“I feel privileged to be given an opportunity to pass on all my experience and knowledge about all conditions in Australia and can’t wait to be back in the Pakistan dressing room,” said Hayden in an official statement.

Hayden will join the Pakistan side in Brisbane on October 15, on the day when the Babar Azam-led side arrives in the country from Christchurch after competing in the T20I tri-series also involving Bangladesh and hosts New Zealand.

Pakistan are scheduled to play two warm-up games against England and Afghanistan before their tournament opener against India on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“I welcome Matthew Hayden back in Pakistan colours. He is a proven performer with his credentials acknowledged and recognised world-over. He brings with him wealth of knowledge about Australia conditions and I am confident his involvement will significantly benefit our extremely talented cricketers for the World Cup and future tours Down Under.

“I would like to offer my gratitude to Bank AlFalah who have once again partnered with us on this appointment and hope they will remain connected with the PCB,” said PCB chairman Ramiz Raja.

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Kohli hadn’t scored a century for India since November 2019, but had scored 1,012 runs at an average of 50.60 in T20Is before registering his landmark 71st international century on Thursday.

Kohli was promoted up the order and opened the innings with Rahul. The change worked as the batitng stalwart ended a 1021-day wait by scoring his 71st international ton — joint second-most across formats — with Australian legend Ricky Ponting.

Rahul felt someone as talented as Kohli can score a century as an opener as well as at No.3 in the order.

“Obviously, Virat scoring runs is a huge bonus for the team, and the way he played against Afghanistan, I know he is very, very pleased with how he batted today. He has been working on his game and that worked beautifully (against Afghanistan). As a team, it is important for every player to get time out in the middle.

“You get confidence if you play 2-3 innings, really happy that he could play that way. You all know Virat Kohli, you have been watching him for so many years; it is not like he will only score centuries if he opens the batting… if he bats at No.3, he can then also score centuries. It is all about roles and what role a certain player has,” Rahul was quoted as saying by ICC.

“The role Virat had on Thursday, he played it beautifully. In the next series we play, his role would be different,” added Rahul.

“Obviously, the celebration (after scoring a century) by Virat was more of relief. There has been no change in his mind-set, attitude, and work ethic in the last 2-3 years. There has been no difference in the way he prepares for the game. He has always had that desire, I think we are also very obsessed with numbers, obsessed with those three digits and we think, if someone is scoring hundreds, then only he is in form. His contributions have been phenomenal in the last 2-3 years,” said Rahul.

“As a player, you always want to be perfect or you want to challenge yourself towards excellency, he has always been that player. Even during this phase, he has remained in the moment and he has worked on his game. That has been a learning for our entire group.

“In that dressing room, none of us are surprised to see what he has done. I am sure this will give him even more confidence, he will obviously cherish this hundred and this will build great confidence around the group as well,” he added.

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