Aggressive batting approach the key for Rohit's men - India team preview

Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami. Standby Players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur.

All the squads for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Champions (2007)

Underdogs ahead of the event, India went on to clinch the title in the tournament's inaugural edition with a young squad led by MS Dhoni, whose captaincy stocks soared since.

India beat arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling final in Johannesburg to be crowned the champions. While they went on to reach the final again seven years later as well, the title in 2007 remains their only one to date.

(Most recent first): L W W W W L W L L W W

v Pakistan (October 23), MCG, Melbourne

v Group A runners-up (October 27), SCG, Sydney

v South Africa (October 30), Perth Stadium, Perth

v Bangladesh (November 2), Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

v Group B winners (November 6), MCG, Melbourne

v Pakistan (October 23)

Pakistan's pace attack against India's brand new approach in this format makes this a formidable clash by itself without the dramatic complexities between the two countries, both on and off the field.

The last time these teams met at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, India had never been beaten by Pakistan in a World Cup game. That changed, rather spectacularly, in Dubai with Pakistan easing to a 10-wicket triumph.

Another win in the Super Four clash in the Asia Cup gave India a jolt, and as a marquee clash awaits in Melbourne, all eyes are on how India would counter the Pakistan pace battery that recently won them the T20I tri-series in New Zealand.

With no Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, their bowling will also be tested by Pakistan opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who are piling on runs for fun.

Suryakumar Yadav -"I was completely blown away," said Virat Kohli after watching Suryakumar Yadav's mind-blowing onslaught in the Asia Cup game against Hong Kong.

Kohli isn't the only one mesmerised by Yadav's shot-making and aggression at the crease.

His skipper, Rohit Sharma, had no words to describe Yadav's batting at a press conference a few weeks back, admitting that his "fearless" approach was crucial to India's new style in this format of the game.

Yadav has a career T20I strike rate of 176.81, the best by anyone to have batted at least 25 times. From the middle order, Yadav looks to take the attack back to the bowlers and has so far been impeccable with his execution.

Before the start of the T20 World Cup in 2021 exactly a year ago, Yadav was ranked just inside the top 50 of the ICC Men's T20 batting rankings. Today, ahead of the next edition of the tournament, he sits at No.2 behind Rizwan and is certainly in contention to take pole position by the end of the event.

Ponting picks Suryakumar Yadav for key batting position in India's T20I side

Despite injuries to key players, India remain one of the contenders for the title thanks to an awe-inspiring batting unit that has experience, flamboyance and depth. A new-found aggression with the bat has seen India post totals of 175 or more in 16 of the 22 matches in which they batted first.

That they have lost only three of these 16 matches is further indication of India's conscious approach to turning around their first innings batting issues.

The experienced top-order of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are in form and can tackle high pace and bounce, a prerequisite for success Down Under. Rishabh Pant's lack of runs is a worry, especially given that he is the only left-handed batting option in the top six of the batting line-up.

But with Axar Patel showing promise as an all-rounder in the last few matches, India might have one less headache going into the tournament.

There's no covering up Jasprit Bumrah's absence, but India still have quality in the bowling attack with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami bringing experience and the rise of young Arshdeep Singh giving them a left-handed variation.

Hardik Pandya returning to bowling fitness gives India the required balance and additional pace bowling cover, with the Australian pitches certain to assist Pandya's style of bowling.

The spin department is well-stocked too with Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar leading the pack and Ravichandran Ashwin too showcasing good form leading up to the tournament.

India will have Pakistan and South Africa as their biggest challenges in the group stage, but will back themselves to beat at least one of them to progress through to the semi-finals. They would want a victory early in the tournament against the arch-rivals to set the ball rolling in a tournament that hasn't failed to entertain with surprises every edition.

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Shami's return after injury augers well for the team, but the pacer is short of match practice and does not have as good a record in the shortest format of the game.

Death bowling remains a concern for India with Bumrah's towering absence leaving a gaping hole in the attack. However, Arshdeep's promising returns since his debut gives India hope ahead of the tournament.

Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar too add to death bowling options, but it remains to be seen how many quicks India can squeeze into their final XI, especially given that a few of them do not add to batting depth.

Overall, India appear good enough to make the final four despite their absent stars, but a loss early in the tournament could put pressure on the Rohit-led team that has managed to win 26 of their 34 completed T20I matches since the end of the last T20 World Cup.