Picking a combined India-Bangladesh playing 11 for 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Suryakumar Yadav, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
India will take on Bangladesh in a Group 1 Super 8 match of the 2024 T20 World Cup at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua on Saturday, June 22. The Men in Blue began their Super 8 round with a 47-run win over Afghanistan in Barbados. On the other hand, Bangladesh went down to Australia by 28 runs [DLS method] in their opening Super 8 match.
Batting first after winning the toss against Afghanistan, India put up 181-8 on the board. In response, Afghanistan managed only 134 as the Men in Blue maintained their unbeaten run in the World Cup. Bangladesh were held to 140-8 in their 20 overs against the Aussies. Australia were 100-2 in 11.2 overs when rain forced an end to the one-sided contest.
India have a 12-1 lead over Bangladesh in the head-to-head stats. However, there have been some extremely close contests between the Asian sides over the years. Ahead of their battle in Antigua on Saturday, we pick a combined XI of the two sides for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c), Najmul Hossain Shanto
Rohit Sharma has struggled as a batter in the T20 World Cup. However, he has been impressive as the leader of the pack. The Indian captain began the ICC event with a well-compiled half-century against Ireland in the team's first match before losing his way. India will be backing both Rohit and Virat Kohli to come good.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto has also not been at his best with the willow. He registered scores of 7, 14, 1, and 4 in Bangladesh's group games. He, however, found some much-needed form in the Super 8 match against Australia. Shanto hit 41 off 36 balls, with the aid of five fours and a six.
Middle order & all-rounders: Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan and Axar Patel
The dangerous Rishabh Pant would be the keeper-batter in the combined India-Bangladesh XI for the 2024 T20 World Cup. He guided India to victory with 36* off 26 against Ireland and top-scored with 42 off 31 in India's win over Pakistan. Pant has got starts in the last two games as well, but has not managed to carry on.
Suryakumar Yadav has been brilliant for Team India in the middle order in the 2024 T20 World Cup. After beginning the tournament with two single-figure scores, he has scored two contrasting fifties in the last two matches. The 33-year-old hit 50* off 49 against the United States and clobbered a typically aggressive 53 off 28 in the Super 8 match against Afghanistan.
Towhid Hridoy has been Bangladesh's most consistent batter in the ongoing T20 World Cup. He is the team's leading run-getter in the tournament so far with 135 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 129.80. The 23-year-old scored 40 and 37 respectively against Sri Lanka and South Africa in the league stage. He contributed 40 off 28 in the Super 8 match against Australia.
Shakib Al Hasan and Axar Patel would be the all-rounders in the combined India-Bangladesh XI for the T20 World Cup. Shakib has not been at his best but did contribute a crucial 64* off 46 in the win over the Netherlands. He also picked up 2-9 with his left-arm spin in the win over Nepal.
As for Axar, he has done the job that he had been picked for. The left-hander chipped in with vital cameos against Pakistan and Afghanistan. With his canny left-arm spin, he has claimed four scalps, while also keeping things tight.
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib
Jasprit Bumrah has been sensational for India with the ball in the 2024 T20 World Cup. In four matches, he has claimed eight wickets at an average of 6.50 and an economy rate of 3.46. The right-arm pacer registered figures of 3-14 against Pakistan and 3-7 against Afghanistan. He has been almost unplayable.
Arshdeep Singh and Tanzim Hasan Sakib would be Bumrah's pace bowling partners in the combined India-Bangladesh XI. Sakib is the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup as of now, with nine scalps from five matches. He claimed 3-18 against South Africa and produced exceptional figures of 4-7 in the win against Nepal.
India's left-arm pacer Arshdeep has 10 scalps to his name in four innings at an average of 11.10 and an economy rate of 6.93. The 25-year-old registered brilliant figures of 4-9 against the USA and followed it up with 3-36 against Afghanistan.
Bangladesh's promising leg-spinner Rishad Hossain would be the frontline slow bowler in the combined XI. He has claimed nine wickets in five innings at an average of 13.88 and an economy rate of 6.94. In what has been a highly impressive World Cup campaign for him, Hossain picked three-fers against Sri Lanka and the Netherlands and 2-23 versus Australia.