Big T20 World Cup Question: If Rahul opens, Kohli plays at No. 3, who to drop from middle order?

BCCI or will it be Virat Kohli? Kohli the T20 batter is playing from his memory but it is now quite evident that his methods are not working quite well enough for him in this short-duration-high impact game. Nor is it allowing the Indian team to make optimal use of its resources. The 20's or 35's are coming but not at a strike-rate of 150 (it was 102 plus against Pakistan on Sunday). So can Kohli be dropped from the T20 World Cup squad? Not even in your wildest of imagination even if he isn't scoring runs at a breakneck pace. But can Kohli continue playing for India in this format post the T20 World Cup in Australia? Well, even if the people, who are in decision making positions know the answer, they won't spell it out. That is a question that has been doing rounds of the corridors of Indian cricket since the 'Desert Debacle' last year when India made a pre-mature exit from the T20 World Cup . That was Kohli's last tournament as India's T20 captain and he had then relinquished captaincy of one format thinking that it would help him ease his workload and free him from burdens of leading the side across all formats. One year down the line, even if Kohli doesn't have any regrets, the move didn't work out as it he would have envisaged and subsequently was removed from ODI leadership and the intelligent man read the signs and surrendered his 'virtual arm-band' in a format where his numbers were phenomenal. While Kohli recently opened up about his recent struggles with mental health issues in a refreshingly candid interview with 'Star Sports', a case of burn-out can't be ruled out.

The wait is almost over as arch-rivals India and Pakistan will square off in the Group A match of the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday in Dubai. It would be interesting to see how both teams perform in front of a jam-packed stadium and how both units hold their nerve. Ahead of the match, India captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday addressed a press conference where he spoke about the morale within the group, the preparation for the match and what do India-Pakistan matches mean to him.

Rohit Sharma said a few days ago that 80-90% of the squad is settled. Even though the trend post Covid is to carry 18 players, including three stand-byes, Rohit was probably talking about the final 15 who will be part of the World Cup team. The Indian team has quite a few T20s scheduled in the next couple of months, starting with the Asia Cup, and it’s the perfect platform for the fringe players to make an impression. If there are no last-minute injuries, the certainties for the World Cup are Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvenshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah. That leaves four spots and there are about nine contenders, eight being part of the Asia Cup touring party (including stand-byes). Sanju Samson is not part of the team, but he will come into the discussion later. TOI takes a look at the fringe players who will be looking to make a mark in Asia Cup and stake a claim for the World Cup. TOI looks at fringe players who are eager to make an impact in Asia Cup and make the cut for T20 World Cup.

India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their first Asia Cup match on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium. This will be the first time the two sides meet since Pakistan romped to a 10-wicket win over India at the same venue at the 2021 T20 World Cup. India vice-captain KL Rahul, speaking at a press conference on Friday, said that the defeat to Pakistan last year had hurt the team and admitted that India were "outplayed" in the match.

Asia Cup, beginning Saturday, the most closely fought edition ever. Pakistan legend Wasim Akram has already predicted the six-team tournament as having the potential to showcase quality that has never been seen before. Leaving aside the lone qualifier Hong Kong, the five other teams including record seven-time champions India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh can beat each other on their day. The tournament, which is being staged in the T20 format after six years, had to be moved to the UAE after hosts Sri Lanka expressed their inability to organise it back home amid the economic crisis faced by the island nation.

Virat Kohli's lean patch has been much discussed and the star batter even took a break from cricket, missing India's tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe. He is, however, set to return to action when India take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening Asia Cup fixture on Sunday. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan opined that more than the Asia Cup, Kohli will be key in the 2022 T20 World Cup in October-November, and India would need him at his best when the marquee tournament in Australia comes around.