Former Sri Lanka batter Kumar Sangakkara has picked India as his favorite to win the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. Sangakkara praised India's well-balanced squad, highlighting their powerful batting lineup, dynamic all-rounders, and top-tier spin attack.
The BCCI selection committee announced the 15-member Indian squad on May 1, which sees Rohit Sharma captaining the side with Hardik Pandya as his deputy. The squad includes big names like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, while Yuzvendra Chahal was also named after he missed the last two editions of the T20 World Cup.
Sangakkara feels head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma would make informed selections about team composition based on the surface and opponent.
"It's an extremely strong squad. They've got their batting covered, they've got their all-rounders in. They've got very high-quality spin and they've got very good combinations that they can play. Knowing the conditions there, I'm sure Rahul (Dravid) and Rohit (Sharma) have a good idea of what the squad should be to play the cricket they want in the World Cup.
And they'll be having two or three different combinations, depending on whether they want a deeper batting line-up or more strength in their bowling. But it's a well-balanced squad, a very strong squad, and India's always been very strong in international tournaments," Sangakkara said on Wednesday, the eve of Rajasthan's match against Hyderabad.
The Indian squad includes four Rajasthan Royals players - Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Yuzvendra Chahal in the main squad and Avesh Khan in the reserves - and as RR director of cricket, Sangakkara was pleased with his side's commitment to the team.
"We are very proud of the players who have made it. They've worked hard. I can understand how their minds would have been until the final announcement was made. A lot of credit should be given to players because they've tried their best to shut out all of that and played a good IPL. That's worked for them," he said.
Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are the two new wicketkeepers that India has recruited to their team. The team has also included star batsman Virat Kohli, who has been hammering home runs in the current IPL 2024.
As reserve players, Avesh Khan, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, and Khaleel Ahmed have been picked.
India is paired with co-hosts the United States of America, Ireland, Canada, and bitter rival Pakistan in Group A of the ICC competition.
India T20 World Cup Squad:
Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (Wk), Sanju Samson (Wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
(ANI inputs)
