BCCI has announced India squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA. Rohit Sharma will lead the side in this second mega event in the shortest format after India bowed out of semifinal a couple of years ago in Australia. Hardik Pandya has been appointed the vice-captain of the team amidst concerns around his bowling fitness in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
As far as the India squad is concerned, Sanju Samson has been finally rewarded for his exceptional consistency in the ongoing IPL season smashing 385 runs in nine innings so far at a strike rate of 161.08. This is the first time Samson has been picked in a World Cup despite being around for almost a decade at the international level.
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Yuzvendra Chahal, despite last playing in the format for India in August 2023, has made a comeback thanks to his brilliant show in the IPL accounting for 13 wickets in nine matches so far. Apart from him, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are the other three spinners in the squad.
Interestingly, the selectors have gone with only three specialist pace bowling options in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh. Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube are the two pace bowling all-rounders in the squad with the latter majorly getting picked for his aggressive batting especially in the middle overs in the IPL.
Another notable comeback to the squad is of Rishabh Pant who survived a horrific car crash in December 2022 and will now be returning to international cricket at the T20 World Cup. He returned to playing competitive cricket in IPL 2024 and not only proved his fitness as a wicketkeeper-batter but also showcased brilliant form with the bat while leading Delhi Capitals.
India has made as many as seven changes to their T20 World Cup 2022 squad with KL Rahul, the vice-captain then, being one of the major omissions. Among all the players who missed out, Rinku Singh was the surprising one as he averages 89 and strikes at 176.02 in 11 innings for India. His last score in the Indian colours read 69* off 39 balls against Afghanistan in January 2024.
The T20 World Cup is set to commence on June 1 and India will start their campaign on June 5 against Ireland. Their marquee clash against Pakistan is scheduled on June 9. The first batch of the World Cup bound players will leave on May 21. The travelling group will have the entire coaching staff and squad members from IPL teams that are out of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the BCCI has also confirmed that the captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar will hold the press conference for the squad announcement at the BCCI Head Quarters in Mumbai on May 2 at 4 PM IST.
India squad for T20 World Cup
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
