"I don't think the team is fully prepared" - Rajkumar Sharma on Team India's readiness for the T20 World Cup

Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma believes Team India are not yet fully prepared for the T20 World Cup to be played in Australia later this year.

The Indian team are on a 12-match winning streak in the shortest format of the game. After winning their last three games at the T20 World Cup 2021, the Men in Blue have defeated New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka by a 3-0 margin in the last three series played at home.

During a discussion on India News, Rajkumar Sharma was asked about Team India's readiness for the T20 World Cup. He responded:

"I don't think the team is fully prepared, there is still a lot of preparation required. Our best XI has not even played one or two times, sometimes players are unfit or someone has been given rest. Sometimes Bumrah is not playing, at other times Virat Kohli is not playing, Rohit Sharma has come back after getting fit."

The former first-class cricketer highlighted that Rohit Sharma and the team management are yet to finalize their best XI. Rajkumar Sharma explained:

"Till the time you have a settled core XI which you will play in the first match, you are still in experimental mode. Rishabh Pant was not playing, Ishan Kishan was being tried in his place. Once you play your XI, then only you will come to know what are the shortcomings and where improvement is required."

With Rishabh Pant being rested, Ishan Kishan performed wicketkeeping duties for Team India in the last T20I against West Indies and the first two matches against Sri Lanka.

Sanju Samson took over the wicketkeeping gloves for the final match against the Lankans, with Kishan ruled out due to a concussion.

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"All these players will be playing in the IPL" - Rajkumar Sharma highlights the tournament's role in Team India's final composition

The IPL performances could sway the Indian team selection [P/C: iplt20.com]

Rajkumar Sharma was also asked if the series against South Africa and the Asia Cup would be enough preparation for Team India before the World Cup. He replied:

"All these players will be playing in the IPL, so their present form can be seen there. After that, when you have these two series, you can make your best 14 or 15 and play a proper XI from that, about who will be your two all-rounders, who are your death bowlers."

While highlighting the uncertainty at the top of the order, the current Delhi coach concluded by saying that IPL 2022 could define Team India's final composition. Sharma observed:

"If you see now also, the opening combination is still not settled. Still chance is being taken, whether Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul or Shikhar Dhawan will open with Rohit Sharma. So there are a lot of things to work on and the things will be settled only after the South Africa series or Asia Cup and the IPL form will contribute to the selections."

Team India are still trying to figure out their ideal opening combination for the T20 World Cup.

While KL Rahul was injured for the series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, and Shikhar Dhawan didn't seem to be in the scheme of things, Ishan Kishan was found slightly wanting in the majority of the matches he played.