After the conclusion of the India vs England Test series, the attention of fans across India has turned to the Indian Premier League (IPL), which began on March 22. This year, the tournament will have extra significance as the T20 World Cup is set to take place in West Indies and USA immediately after the IPL.
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The tournament represents another chance for India to lift an ICC trophy, not having done so since 2013, when the Men in Blue won the ICC Champions Trophy.
The teams are required to submit their 15-player squad lists roughly a month prior to the tournament, which starts in June. Who will be in and out for India?
In the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, India won four out of their five group stage matches to qualify for the semi-final. However, they were handed a demoralising 10-wicket loss by eventual champions England, when Alex Hales and Jos Buttler put on a 170-run opening stand.
A few members from that squad will almost certainly not be picked this time around; Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Hooda and Dinesh Karthik have not been in and around the T20 setup since 2022.
Rohit Sharma has been confirmed to lead India in 2024. His Mumbai Indians teammate Suryaumar Yadav is also a lock in the squad. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah pulled out of the last tournament with an injury, but will be another sure-shot candidate if he is fit.
Arshdeep Singh has played 25 of India’s 28 T20Is since the T20 World Cup, so there is a high chance he will be picked as well. Hardik Pandya, who has occasionally captained India, the country’s premier pace bowling all-rounder and will be in the squad, provided his body holds up through the IPL. Another all-rounder, Axar Patel, will surely be in the squad but not necessarily in the starting XI.
The glaring omission from this list is star batter Virat Kohli. Previously assumed to be a certainty, reports from earlier this month suggested that he could be left out as the selectors feel his game is not suited to the slower wickets in West Indies.
After failing to make a mark in the season opener against CSK where he scored just 21 runs from 20 balls. ‘King’ Kohli though came back strongly in the second game as he played a brilliant knock of 77 runs off 49 balls to guide RCB to a win over PBKS.
After the match, the former Indian skipper sounded confident of making a comeback to the Indian team as he said in the post-match press conference. He said, “I know my name is often used to just promote the T20 game across the world these days but still got it I guess.”
Opening batsmen: Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s spectacular form over the last 18 months means he could well open alongside Rohit Sharma, but his competition is likely to be with Shubman Gill. Virat Kohli, especially if he continues his form in the IPL, could slot in at 3.
Middle-order batsmen: Rinku Singh could also earn a spot in the middle-order with his stellar displays for India and Kolkata Knight Riders. Suryakumar Yadav is almost a certainty. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube are all fighting for maybe one spot. Hardik Pandya is a certianty in the team for sure. One suprise inclusion among the contenders will be Riyan Parag, who is having a sensational season for Rajasthan Royals.
Wicket-keepers: The wicketkeeper slot is a difficult one for India. KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel and Jitesh Sharma are all in the frame with the final selection likely to come down to form and/or fitness. Kishan is unlikely to make it, given his exclusion from the BCCI’s central contract list earlier this month. And Pant has shown glimpses of his old form.
Fast bowlers: Shami will not recover in time from his surgery and it might be Siraj who partners Bumrah. Mukesh Kumar and Deepak Chahar are all in the frame as pace options. But the wildcard option will be LSG’s Mayank Yadav who is lighting up the IPL so far.
Spin bowlers: The lead spinner’s spot is likely to go to Kuldeep Yadav and Jadeja is a certainty in the team. Axar Patel should also make the squad. Ravi Bishnoi will need a good IPL to make it into the squad. Yuzvendra Chahal has been out of the reckoning but he has had a good start to IPL 2024.
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Rahul is a content producer for The Sporting News’ India edition.
