As the deadline for selecting India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad approaches, former cricketers are weighing in on which players to choose and which to leave out. Virat Kohli’s selection for the team remains a source of contention, with concerns raised about his strike rate and intent. Hardik Pandya, the Indian team’s only prominent pace-bowling all-rounder, has also been the subject of intense speculation about his future due to his poor all-round performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
As the speculation continues, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has revealed his 15-man squad for the showpiece event, which takes place in June.
Top-order: Irfan chose Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Virat Kohli to lead the batting order. Any of them can fill the two opening slots, and Shubman Gill, among the reserves, is still an option. Irfan chose four players for the two opening positions, with Kohli and Gill both capable of playing at No. 3.
Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Rinku Singh, and Shivam Dube make up the middle order, with Hardik Pandya the only pace-bowling all-rounder. Dube also bowls seam, but he has yet to be used as a bowler by the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Surprisingly, Sanju Samson was left out of the team, with Pant being the only wicketkeeper chosen. KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were among the top players to miss out.
An #IncredibleStarcast icon, @IrfanPathan has picked his 15-member squad for #TeamIndia for the #ICCT20WorldCup!
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Spinners: Ravindra Jadeja is the only spin-bowling all-rounder on the team, with Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav joining him as spinners. Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy were notable absentees from the roster.
Pacers: Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh were Jasprit Bumrah’s pace bowling partners. Other players’ names, such as T Natarajan, Mayank Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, and others, were also mentioned, but Irfan chose the tried-and-true pacer combination.
Irfan Pathan’s 15-member Indian squad for T20 World Cup 2024: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
