India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 was announced last week and the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee pulled a few surprises with notable inclusions and omissions.
The selectors prioritized experience as they picked veteran campaigners like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the squad. Notably, the two batting stalwarts didn’t play a T20I match after the last T20 World Cup until they made a return to the shortest format for India during the home series against Afghanistan earlier this year.
Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are the two designated wicketkeepers in the squad, also including No. 1 ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav.
However, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has identified two newcomers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube, as pivotal to India's success in the upcoming T20 World Cup, slated to be held in the West Indies and USA from June 1 to June 29.
"The two gentlemen you've got to watch out for, and both are left-handers, both playing their first World Cup," Shastri told ICC.
"One is (Yashasvi) Jaiswal. We know a lot about him, he did extremely well against England, explosive at the top of the order, left-hander, he's young, he's fearless and he'll play shots," he added.
Yashasvi Jaiswal entered into the IPL 2024 on the back of a record-shattering exploits in the home Test series against England. However, he failed to live up to the expectations, amassing only 121 runs in first seven games of the ongoing IPL for Rajasthan Royals.
Initially, doubts surrounded the left-hander’s chances of making it into the T20 World Cup 2024 squad. As it turned out, Jaiswal turned the tide with an impressive unbeaten 104, followed by scores of 24 and 67 to earn a place in India’s squad for the global showpiece tournament.
Commenting on Dube, Shastri said: "But there's someone in the middle order, please watch out for (him), because he is explosive, he's devastating and he's a match-winner. He hits sixes for fun, and when it comes to spin bowling, he can kill you."
"He'll park a few balls out of Long Island into the small island, he's that kind of a player. He hits it big, he hits it long, and like I said, against spin, he could kill you.
"Even against the fast bowlers, he's worked out his game, he's understood the way to play and I think he holds the key at that number five, number six position because if you're on the doldrums, you want someone to change it in 20-25 balls, he's the player to go to."
Shivam Dube, the powerful left-handed batter, was rewarded with a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad for his stunning exploits in the ongoing IPL for Chennai Super Kings. He has aggregated 350 runs in 11 innings at a remarkable strike rate of 170.73.
Dube had also played a key role in CSK’s IPL 2023 triumph. Amassing 418 runs with a striking 176.47 against spinners, including 22 sixes, paved his return to the Indian team for the Ireland tour last year.
Dube managed to retain his place in the national side for the home T20I series against Afghanistan earlier this year. He racked up 124 runs across the three-match series and also made handy contributions with the ball to earn the Player-of-the-Series award.
"His strike rate, which will be close to 200 most of the time, will help India immensely in going forward, getting those 190s, 200s that are needed in big competitions, especially like the (T20) World Cup.
"So enjoy it, watch out for this left-hander — he's big, he's strapping, and he hits a long ball," Shastri remarked.
(With IANS Inputs)
