The Indian cricket team heads into the T20 World Cup 2024 clash against Pakistan with the ‘favourites’ tag, owing to an embarrassing defeat Babar Azam‘s men faced against co-hosts USA in their opening match. In terms of the batting unit, the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will arguably be the two players in the spotlight during the match, but former Pakistan wicket-keeper batter Kamran Akmal also has his eyes on Suryakumar Yadav, the No. 1 T20 batter in the world at the moment.

Though the ICC rankings have Surya sitting on the top in the shortest format, his form hasn’t been the best. Even in the Indian Premier League, Surya didn’t record many memorable performances to his name. Now, the attacking batter has been challenged by Akmal to prove that he really is the No. 1 T20 batter in the world.

“Virat Kohli is on top. Second is Suryakumar Yadav. His performance against Pakistan is yet to come, but I will still pick him. Rohit Sharma has already proved himself and has scored runs against Pakistan in ICC events, and now it is Suryakumar Yadav’s turn. If he is No. 1, then he should come and score against Pakistan. He hasn’t scored big runs against Pakistan whenever he has come to bat. However, he has scored a lot of runs against other teams. He is a classy player and a 360-degree player. It is a treat to watch him bat. He has cemented his place in a very short period of time,” Akmal said in a chat with the Times of India.

The former wicket-keeper batter termed India as the ‘favourites’, not just for the match against Pakistan but also for the tournament. Akmal feels Rohit’s men have the right balance of youth and experience. If they don’t capitalise on the talent they have and win the title, it will be more difficult in the future.

Considering India’s form and the form of players in every format of the game, India are favourites. The selectors have chosen a strong team this time. It was a tough decision to drop KL Rahul and Shubman Gill, but the selectors picked others ahead of them. I support this decision. The Indian selectors preferred form over statistics. I also give credit to Rohit for this. He has built this team. India looks very strong. If India don’t win the World Cup this time, then it will be very difficult for them in the future. They have talent, experience, and form. They have a big chance. With Virat, Surya, Rohit, Dube, Pant, and Pandya, India has every star in the team. I am sure Rohit is having a severe headache trying to pick 11 from this team.