India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 was announced on Tuesday (April 30) and the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee pulled a few surprises with notable inclusions and omissions.
The selectors opted to go with experience as they included Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the squad. All-rounder Hardik Pandya also made it to the 15-member squad as vice-captain despite the scrutiny over his form and bowling fitness.
Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are the two designated wicketkeepers in the side as the selectors overlooked KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan.
Wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal earned a recall in the national side for the showpiece tournament. Besides Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Akshar Patel are the spinning options in the squad. Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh will assist India's pace battery led by Jasprit Bumrah.
Two days after the team announcement, skipper Rohit Sharma addressed a press conference, where he shed light on the strategic vision behind picking four spinners.
"I don't want to go into details on this. I definitely wanted four spinners. We have played a lot of cricket there. The match starts at 10 am in the morning. There is a technical aspect involved in this," Rohit told reporters.
"The reason for picking four spinners is something I won't reveal now. I definitely wanted our spinners. With two of them being all-rounders and two attacking options, it gives you balance. Based on opposition, we can decide who to play," he added.
Shivam Dube was rewarded with a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad for his strong performance in the ongoing IPL season for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The BCCI also announced a list of four reserve players - Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed - who will be travelling with the squad.
While the decision to leave out Rinku triggered a debate, Dube's inclusion suggests a strategic emphasis on bolstering the team's middle-order batting and providing additional bowling options.
"We've got to understand what the pitches will be like and the opposition composition. One thing we really looked at is our middle overs hitting. Our top order hitting has been alright, it has not been bad.
"There are other options there as well. We picked a guy based on his performance in the IPL and a few games he played for India. There is no guarantee what our playing eleven will look like," Rohit stated, referring to Dube.
The captain mentioned that he had figured out 70-80 percent of the squad before the IPL. "You sort of make the playing eleven in your mind and work around it. A lot of preparations and talks and guys playing games happen during the IPL, lot of them are playing the format for a while now.”
"The talk of what is final 15 is going to be started much before the IPL. These are just a few spots we had to look at in the IPL.
"In IPL performances change everyday. Anyone will come and score a hundred or to take five wickets. We knew 70-80 percent of our squad (before the IPL)," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
