With no International T20 game left for Team India, the selectors and the coaching staff of Team India have yet to finalize their 15-member squad.

Can we expect shocking and surprise picks in Team India for the 2024 T20 World Cup? Remember the 2022 squad?

Presented By: Raghunath Nair

Introduction

In the recently concluded T20 series in South Africa, Team India went in with a fresh look T20 Squad with many regulars either missing the series due to injuries or having been rested.

The selection team also put faith in Captain Rohit Sharma to lead the World Cup Squad after his stupendous form in the recently concluded ODI World Cup.

T20 World Cup 2024 India squad is yet to be announced and the selectors will wait for 2-3 weeks into the IPL before announcing.

T20 World Cup 2024- India Captain

The fact that 37-year-old Rohit Sharma was picked as captain due to the lack of fitness of Standing captain Hardik Pandya also proves that Team India still cannot let go of their seniors and take brave calls on youngsters.

With Rohit Sharma in the mix, Virat Kohli also showed interest to be part of the T20 squad. Both the Seniors have not played any competitive International T20 after the 2022 T20 World Cup Semi Final Exit.

In the last T20 South African series, many regulars opted out of the series. This allowed the captain, the coaching team, and the selectors to try out and test some new faces before finalizing on the final 15 for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

 While notes would have been taken on their respective performances, we believe the final 15 will be announced only after the initial IPL 2024 games.

With the upcoming T20 World Cup on the horizon, India will want to correct the mistakes they made in the previous edition and the T20 World Cup 2024 India squad will be announced shortly.

While some of the names are in expected lines for the squad, all eyes will be on the young talents who have impressed us in the last 1-2 years.

In the recently concluded series in South Africa, some names reaffirmed the selector’s faith but some names did disappoint who were front runners in the 15-member squad.

Virat Kohli is back in the T20 mix after a gap of almost 2 years. It will not be a surprise if the batting legend does not find a regular spot in the T20 playing eleven. Such is the competition in the current situation.

Regulars who will feature in the 15-member squad

Rohit Sharma

Virat Kohli

Surya Kumar Yadav

Hardik Pandya

Jaspreet Bumrah

Let’s discuss the possible balance.

Rinku Singh

Rinku Singh is India’s new Finisher. He can reduce the burden on Hardik Pandya for finishing games.

A fresh face in the T20 circuit, Rinku Singh had a brilliant 2023 IPL and did very well in the limited international opportunity he received.

Shivam Dubey

The Mumbai Ranji player may be one of the shock-inclusions in the team to cover the fragile Hardik Pandya. He was extremely effective against Afghanistan in the T20 Series last played.

Hardik Pandya assumed to be fit for the IPL and the World Cup is what every Indian fan wants to hear but after his early ODI World Cup exit due to injury, will prompt the selectors to look for a backup. Shivam Dubey fits the bill

Deepak Chahar

While this CSK All Rounder has not been in Favor for some time had unfortunately missed the South African and Afghanistan Series for personal reasons. He is said to be now fully recovered from his injury niggles and could be a great pick if the selectors go in favor of the allrounder.

Mukesh Kumar

Mukesh Kumar has been a great inclusion in the recent Indian T20 bowling setup. He can take the new ball and is excellent in the death overs. His skills to bowl the last overs puts him above Mohammad Siraj in the T20 race.

His performance in the South Africa series has been 50-50 and could have raised some doubts which hopefully will be corrected in his IPL performance.

Yashasvi Jaiswal

The T20 format requires batsmen to be fearless and this Mumbai Batsman who recently debuted in Test cricket plays his game most aggressively.

He has been one of the most consistent IPL openers in 2023.

He can be a perfect foil for his opening partner and Captain who can guide him in building his innings. He will be a contender in the opening slot and would have outdone Shubman Gill for the spot.

Ravi Bishnoi

With Yuzvendra Chahal surprisingly not in Favor of the selectors, Ravi Bishnoi has been the front-runner for the right-arm leg spin option. In the limited international opportunities, he has done well both for India and for India A.

Being a good fielder may edge him past other spinners in the team.

The Spin department will experience a lot of shock and anxiety when the final spinner’s list is announced.

Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel will fight hard for their places.

Even the spot of Ravindra Jadeja cannot be considered 100%.

Tilak Varma

Tilak Varma came into the scene with his brilliant contributions first with Mumbai Indians and then with India A team.

He has been a great middle to lower-middle-order inclusion to Team India.  He was a bit unlucky in the South African series and his lack of bowling in real match scenarios may go against him and he may lose out to Rinku Singh who has been in red-hot form.

He will be closely watched in IPL 2024 before a final call is made

Conclusion:

 With 2 spots already going to the seniors, the balance of the team will now revolve around the 2 filled spots.

T20 World Cup 2024 India squad will now be different after accommodating the two seniors.

When we bowed down in the T20 World Cup in 2022, the coach was given an extension to rebuild the T20 Side. “Team in rebuilding phase” is the standard excuse given from one World Cup campaign to the other.

India should focus on building exclusive teams for the T20 format as the demand for the game is different from the other formats. The effectiveness of the team relies more on the combination of the playing eleven and not on which star players are playing.

India’s 2007 maiden T20 World Cup win is testimony to that.

The T20 World Cup 2024 India squad should have been announced by now. If the coaching staff and the selectors are hoping to pick players based on the performance of a few IPL games, it shows the ineffectiveness of the system and lack of clarity.

While India will not go as a favorite into the competition, the passion of the Indian fans keeps hope alive for Team India

FAQS

Will Virat Kohli play T20 world cup 2024

Virat has shown interest in being part of the world cup squad. The selectors are yet to declare the 15-member squad. Virat Kohli most likely will be in the 15-member squad.

Where is T20 World Cup 2024

The T20 World Cup 2024 will be hosted by West Indies and USA.

When will the T20 World Cup 2024 begin?

The T20 World Cup 2024 will begin on 3rd June 2024.

Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both be in the playing eleven in the T20 World Cup 2024?

While the heart says yes, the mind says only one of the players should play in the final eleven.

Who will be India’s T20 World Cup 2024 captain

Rohit Sharma will lead the national team