The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad on Tuesday, April 30 which will be led by Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya being the vice-captain.
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The team includes 6 Batters:
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (Wk), Sanju Samson (Wk), Suryakumar Yadav.
Allrounders: Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel.
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Image Credits: BCCI
The Indian cricket board (BCCI) announced in a statement on Tuesday, April 30 that Hardik Pandya will serve as vice captain and Rohit Sharma as captain of the 15-man T20 World Cup squad. Rinku Singh and KL Rahul were two of the greatest misses, while Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal were rewarded for their outstanding IPL performances.
As expected, Virat Kohli and young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal were included in the 15-man squad. Rishabh Pant, a batter and wicketkeeper in the IPL, was selected for the T201 team following his heroic comeback to competitive play. Even prior to his vehicle accident in December 2022, Pant was not a regular in the T201 mix. Nonetheless, he put on a phenomenal performance with the bat and the gloves, scoring 398 runs in only 11 games.
Sanju Samson, who did not make the squad for the ODI World Cup last year, was recognized for his outstanding performance in the IPL 2024. The Rajasthan skipper has been picked ahead of KL Rahul, who was also a contender.
Hardik Pandya, the captain of MI, has struggled in the 2024 IPL, but he is supported to be Rohit Sharma’s backup. India was led by Hardik in 16 matches last year while Rohit Sharma was taking a break from T20Is to focus on the run-up to the ODI World Cup. India has also selected seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube, who has been in exceptional six-hitting form for CSK, for the IPI 2024.
The BCCI also revealed that senior selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma will speak to the media on Thursday, May 2, at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
This year’s T20 World Cup will be hosted by the United States and the Caribbean and will start from June 1. India will commence this journey by going head- to- head against Ireland on June 5 in New York. The teams from all the participant nations have been divided into four groups A, B, C and D.
“No doubt, Rinku paid the price for the Impact Player Rule. He is plain and simple unlucky. Hardik might be in poor form but he is still India’s best seam bowling all-rounder and it would have been a risk dropping him considering he is the only one who has bowled”
A BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
As it appears BCCI has taken a fair decision and has tried to consider every player giving an outstanding performance but Netizen’s have been raising their voices for players Ravi Bishnoi and Rinku Singh and against Vice-Captain Hardik Pandya. Irfan Pathan landed a tweet amidst the chaos saying ‘it is a tough pill to swallow’.
Highlights of India’s T20 World Cup squad:
Options for the top order are Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma.
There are four spinners: two finger and two wrist spinners.
Merely three quick bowling specialists.
Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant were selected ahead of KL Rahul. Despite his steady form, Rinku Singh is left out; Shivam Dube is included.
The deputy to Rohit Sharma is Hardik Pandya.
India Squad for T20 World Cup:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashashvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav,Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan have been considered as reserves for the tournament.
