wicketkeeper-batter does just that. Jitesh Sharma—promoted to vice captain

Among the 20 batters who have faced at least 500 deliveries in middle overs (7–16) since the IPL 2020, Kohli’s strike rate of 116.27 is the lowest. Worse, it takes him almost twice as long (10.6 balls) to hit a boundary in this phase as it did for Sanju Samson (SR of 152.87; boundary rate of 5.3) and betway sports (SR of 150.59; boundary rate of 4.8), the two greatest middle-over batters of all time.

With a boundary every 14.7 overs, Kohli’s strike rate falls even lower to 105.53, the lowest among the 18 batsmen (minimum 300 deliveries) when he faces a spinner during this batting phase.

That’s exactly what the Telegraph investigation a few days ago revealed, implying that it could have played a part in why Kohli was left off of India’s World Cup roster. In the world of cricket, the discovery created quite a stir. But, cricket is more than just arithmetic and thinking. There is more at stake for the selectors than merely picking the team, especially in ICC competitions.

And a wicketkeeper-batter does just that. Jitesh Sharma—promoted to vice captain of the dafabet for the IPL 2024 season—made an impact with both his six-hitting power and ability to close off games after playing six of the eleven Twenty20 International matches for India since November 2023. In three more games, Ishan Kishan scored two fifty-score runs with a strike rate of 144.73, almost exactly the same as Jitesh’s (148.43).

The other contenders for the job are Sanju Samson and KL Rahul, if the latter can adapt his game and play middle-order for the Lucknow Super Giants in the 2024 Indian Premier League. But after that terrible incident in December 2022, Rishabh Pant is expected to return to the sport, therefore he may win this competition. Furthermore, during the most recent England Test series, Dhruv Jurel made a memorable impression.

If he remains fit till the 2024 Indian Premier League, backup batsman Hardik Pandya will undoubtedly be India’s first-choice pace all-round player. But given his history of injuries, India will need a backup, and the selectors only have Shivam Dube to provide that. This season, though, the player for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will need to prove his worth with the ball.

If Rohit and Kohli are picked for the squad and then the XI, India would be exposed to spin. Of the 42 batsmen who have faced more than 200 deliveries against the variation in the last four IPL seasons or rummy loot, Kohli’s strike rate of 108.2 is actually the second lowest. Even players like Hardik and Rohit have struggled against spinners, with strike rates of 124.78 and 126.83, respectively.

The selectors will thus be concentrating on Samson, whose strike rate of 155.09 is the highest among Indian batters and the third-highest overall. The next best Indian batsman is Dube (148.20). Ruturaj Gaikwad (142.59), Jaiswal (144.62), and Shubman Gill (139.75) all have impressive stats against spinners.