T20 WC 2024 | Rinku Singh misses out for Dube, Pant and Samson win the keepers' race in 15-man squad
Ajir Agarkar named a 19-man contingent that will travel to the Caribbean and USA after the IPL's conclusion for the World T20, including four reserves. Notable inclusions include Yuzvendra Chahal and Shivam Dube while the likes of Rinku Singh and Shubman Gill missed out amidst poor IPL campaigns.
Rohit Sharma would lead a pack of experienced campaigners that includes Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and his Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya at the World T20 in the Caribbean and United States of America beginning in June. Hardik has been named the vice-captain having led the team in 16 T20Is since the 2022 T20 World Cup before Rohit returned to take the reins in the three-match series against Afghanistan at the start of 2024.
The veteran is expected to be paired at the top of the order with Yashasvi Jaiswal while Shubman Gill has been included as a travelling reserve after experiencing a poor run of form in the ongoing IPL.
Sanju Samson will likely be the first-choice with the gloves for the Men in Blue given his stellar returns for Rajasthan Royals, managing 385 runs in eight innings so far at a strike rate exceeding 160. In that case, the returning Rishabh Pant would be his backup, marking the 26-year-old's first call-up to the national side since his car accident in December 2022. Meanwhile, incumbent wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma failed to make it into the travelling contingent after failing to play an impactful knock in the league so far.
The selectors have also opted to place faith in the power-hitting abilities of Shivam Dube for his tendency to score at rapid rates against spin which should prove to be crucial on the slow Caribbean pitches. Dube has extended his recent purple patch with three half-centuries while striking at 170-plus in the IPL, allowing him to trump Rinku Singh for a spot in the squad. Having had little role in the Kolkata Knight Riders' campaign, the Uttar Pradesh batter's stellar average of 89 in 11 T20Is at a strike rate of 176.23 was only enough to make him a travelling reserve.
Notably, Yuzvendra Chahal is set to feature in a World Cup for the first time, He is the highest wicket-taker amongst spinners in the IPL so far with 13 scalps at an economy of nine. The wrist-spinners will battle for a spot in the lineup with Kuldeep along with Jadeja and Axar, with only one of the two left-arm orthodox spinners expected to be included in the 11 as middle-order all-rounders.
As for the pacers, one of Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh would be sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah even though the duo have endured poor IPL campaigns by their standards. The all-format right-arm quick Siraj has managed just six wickets while going at nine and a half per over and even though Arshdeep has scalped double the number of wickets, he has given runs away at an even worse economy of 9.63. Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed have been included as travelling reserves following impressive campaigns for Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals respectively.
India will begin their campaign against Ireland in New York on June 5 before playing Group A encounters against Pakistan, USA, and Canada.
India's squad for T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj; Travelling reserves: Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan, Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed
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