The IPL 2024 is at its halfway stage. By now, there appears a clear demarcation between the teams which are top performing from the laggards. Rajasthan Royals, SunRisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders are the top three sides while Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the bottom three sides. This time the IPL holds extra significance. Just after the IPL 2024, the Indian cricket team will compete at the T20 World Cup 2024. The squad for the event is likely to be announced by the end of this month .
Ahead of the T20 World Cup, former Australia batter Aaron Finch painted a grim picture about three stars who are battling poor form.
“I have got my eye on two people, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Hardik Pandya. Two guys who haven’t been in the best form throughout this IPL so far and there is a bit of pressure building on both of them,” Finch, who led Australia to the T20 World Cup title in 2021 and was a member of the 2015 World Cup winning squad, said on Star Sports.
Finch made these comments before the Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians match on Monday where Jaiswal scored a fine unbeaten century. Before the century, Jaiswal scored 121 in seven matches. After his 104* vs Mumbai Indians, his average if 32.14 in eights games.
“There is a T20 World Cup coming up very soon. They will want to be in great form to get picked and then if they are there, to contribute to India having a real crack at trying to win another T20 World Cup,” said Finch in a special interactive session on Star Sports Press Room..
When asked, if the pace bowling too is a concern, with none other than Jasprit Bumrah firing, Finch said: “I think spin could get them out of trouble. I think form of Kuldeep Yadav will be crucial and he will bein the playing XI. Arshdeep Singh is I think a quality bowler, he can swing the new ball both ways. He is not in his best form at the moment but he has got all the tools to have a good tournament. I guess that a part which is slightly concerning for the team. But then we have seven weeks from the tournament. That’s potentially 10 more games for the guys to find form.”
