As the deadline for the announcement of the provisional squad for the T20 World Cup nears, Indian selectors will soon convene to pick the best 15-member team in a bid to claim their second T20I title. While most of the squad picks themselves, there are quite a few contenders, and the selectors will have to take some tough calls to find the best possible fit in their scheme of things. And given that there will be some harsh omissions in the squad, a few hopefuls do not merit a place in the 15-member team based on their recent IPL form, even though they may have the experience and may have been around the Indian setup for a while now.
Before we look at the few players who are lagging in the race for a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad, here’s the best possible 15-member squad the selectors could pick for the tournament.
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India’s Best 15-member Squad for T20 World Cup:
1. Rohit Sharma (C), 2. Virat Kohli, 3. Suryakumar Yadav, 4. Rishabh Pant (WK), 5. Hardik Pandya, 6. Shivam Dube, 7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. Kuldeep Yadav. 9. Arshdeep Singh, 10. Jasprit Bumrah, 11. Yuzvendra Chahal, 12. Shubman Gill, 13. Sanju Samson (WK), 14. Rinku Singh 15. Khaleel Ahmed
16. Yashasvi Jaiswal, 17. Harshit Rana, 18. Tilak Varma, 19. Abhishek Sharma, 20. Avesh Khan
Mohammad Siraj
In the absence of Mohammad Shami (who is out with injury), Mohammad Siraj is India’s most experienced bowler after Jasprit Bumrah. While there is no denying his credentials at the international stage, Siraj has had a very torrid time with the ball this IPL season. He has looked thoroughly out of sorts and has had minimal impact with the ball for his franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In an inexperienced bowling attack, Siraj was supposed to put his hand up and lead RCB’s bowling unit, but things have not gone right for him. RCB were even forced to drop their strike bowler in one of the games. So far in IPL 2024, Siraj is languishing in the 46th spot in Purple Cap Tally with a mere five wickets in eight matches. The average of 57.80 is worse than that of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and R Ashwin in the league for bowlers with a minimum of 20 overs bowled in IPL 2024. The economy, too, is on the higher side; leaking runs at 9.63.
India’s Best 15-member Squad for T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma Captain; Hardik Pandya Vice-captain; Sanju Samson Wicketkeeper…
Ishan Kishan
Once a prime candidate to be India’s opener in the shortest format, Kishan has 27 T20I games under his belt and in the lead-up to the 2022 T20 World Cup, he was the one India were banking on to groom. But things have changed a lot from that time, and amid contract termination and time away from cricket, Kishan has not been able to do justice to his talent. In IPL 2024, Kishan is at the 27th spot in the Orange Cap list with 192 runs in eight matches with only one fifty to his name. He has opened for Mumbai Indians in all those games. With the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal and even KL Rahul conjuring some impact full innings, the Jharkhand wicketkeeper batter has lost out in staking his claim in India’s T20 World Cup squad.
India’s T20 World Cup Squad Selection: 30 World-Class Players, Just 11 Spots for Dream Team
Ravi Bishnoi
When Bishnoi made headlines in the 2020 U19 World Cup, he was earmarked as a future India prospect. On the back of consistent performance in the IPL, he was fast-tracked to the national setup as well, and since his debut in 2022, he has featured in 24 T20Is and 1 ODI. However, the youngster had a horrid time when his direct competitor, Yuzvendra Chahal, performed exceedingly well this season. For a wicket-taker bowler, he has only had five wickets at an average of 41.80 in eight matches and has leaked runs at 8.47.
KL Rahul
Based on runs scored, Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul makes a solid case to be selected in India’s T20 World Cup squad with 302 runs in eight matches, striking at 141.12, and is in the 11th place in the Orange Cap list. But the problem is there are four Indian openers ahead of him: Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma. Another major hurdle for Rahul’s selection is that assuming India go with Kohli and Rohit as their first-choice openers and with Gill in the mix as the backup opener, Rahul, with a similar batting style, also needs to catch up on that account. Yashasvi Jaiswal is in the mix; he has brought himself back in contention with a hundred and provides the left-handed option. If it comes down to choosing the backup openers from among Gill, Jaiswal, and Gaikwad, the selectors might be inclined to pick a younger option. From a backup wicketkeeper’s perspective, Sanju Samson also makes for a better selection choice.
Dinesh Karthik
The enigma of Dinesh Karthik does not go away. It is the World Cup year, and DK has risen from the grave to be a claimant. But will it be prudent for the selectors to take him along? He is in his last leg as a cricketer, but to be fair, that should not be a parameter for non-selection. He has shown glimpses of what he can do as a finisher this IPL 2024 and is striking at 195.52. He was part of the 2022 T20 World Cup squad purely based on the stellar IPL 2022 he had, but unfortunately, he did not get many opportunities in the World Cup itself. Moreover, Shivam Dube has made a solid case to be the designated finisher, and you also have Rinku Singh’s backup option. Similar to Rahul, selectors should go with a younger option.
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