T20 World Cup 2024: Who should be India’s finishers?

Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Finishing has become a crucial aspect of the game, especially in the shortest format. India have named four genuine finishers in their squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 and it will be interesting to see how many of them they pick in their playing XI during the marquee event.

Hardik Pandya is expected to be a certainty with his all-round abilities and the show he put against Bangladesh in the warm-up clash. However, that outing aside, his form since returning from an ankle injury has been quite disappointing. The Baroda all-rounder led Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 to a bottom-of-the-table finish and failed to come good with both bat and ball. In 14 matches, Hardik scored just 216 runs at an average of 18 and a strike rate of 143.05. Meanwhile, with the ball, he only picked up 11 wickets at an average of 35.18 and an economy rate of 10.75.

However, the unique skill sets Hardik brings to the table sets him apart from the rest. He has done well in ICC events in the past and if he can come up with the goods next month, it will stand the inaugural champions in good stead.

Can Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya play together?

Shivam Dube has been a different player since joining Chennai Super Kings in 2022. He had a stellar season with the bat in IPL 2024, having scored 396 runs from 14 matches at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 162.30. The southpaw was particularly brilliant in the first half of the season and it helped him get the nod ahead of Rinku Singh.

Dube imay not be as good a bowler as Hardik but he can chip in with a couple of overs on a given day and help captain Rohit Sharma. However, it is going to be difficult to fit him into the playing XI and the pitches in the West Indies and the USA, where the World Cup is going to be held, are expected to be conducive to spin-bowling and India will be tempted to field Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel as the second all-rounder in the side. The Mumbai all-rounder has bowled just 18 balls in the last three IPL seasons.

When there is a shootout between Hardik and Dube, the former will always have the edge as he can play the role of a third seamer and allow wrist-spinners – Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal to play together.

Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel? Tough call for management

It will be a tough choice to pick one between Jadeja and Axar in the playing XI. Both players bring similar traits to the table. However, Jadeja can be slightly more reliable with the bat and in the field. If the pitch provides some assistance for the spinners, the Saurashtra all-rounder tends to become unplayable with his immaculate accuracy.

Meanwhile, Axar has improved his batting in recent years and is no mug on the field. However, his strength lies with the ball. The left-arm spinner can extract turn even on placid tracks and bamboozle batters with his subtle variations. Therefore, Jadeja is the safer option to choose between the two but Axar can be a more aggressive pick.

Jadeja had a decent IPL 2024 season with the bat but his performances with the ball left a lot to be desired. In 11 innings, the 35-year-old scored 267 runs at an average of 44.50 and a strike rate of 142.02. However, with the ball, he could only bag eight wickets at an average of 46.12 and a strike rate of 35.25.

Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Axar scored 235 runs from 12 innings at an average of 29.38 and a strike rate of 131.28. With the ball, he picked up 11 wickets at an average of 30.64 and a strike rate of 24.