India’s T20 World Cup squad announcement could happen any time this week, with the ICC’s cutoff date for submitting provisional squads being May 1. The Indian think tank has a lot of deliberations to do with many contenders for each of the 15 spots. Choosing the best 15 will be a challenge for the selectors, captain, and coach, and IPL 2024 will be the marker to pick the players based on forms. The T20 World Cup begins roughly one week after the end of IPL 2024, and the premier T20 league in the world has given glimpses of how the Indian players vying for a spot in the T20 World Cup 2024 are faring.
India’s T20 World Cup Squad Selection: 30 World-Class Players, Just 11 Spots for Dream Team
On current form, it is expected that most of the squad will pick itself, but there are quite a few spots up for grabs and a lot of contenders for those spots. Going by India’s history of springing surprises in their selection, one cannot rule out left-field decisions being taken by the Indian think tank. We try and see how India’s final 15 could look based on the form of players in the ongoing IPL.
Stay updated with the latest from IPL 2024, including top contenders for the IPL 2024 Orange Cap and IPL 2024 Purple Cap. Explore the complete IPL 2024 Schedule, IPL 2024 Points Table and players with the Most Sixes, Most Fours and Most Fifties in IPL 2024
India’s Best 15-member Squad for T20 World Cup:
1. Rohit Sharma (C), 2. Virat Kohli, 3. Suryakumar Yadav, 4. Rishabh Pant (WK), 5. Hardik Pandya, 6. Shivam Dube, 7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. Kuldeep Yadav. 9. Arshdeep Singh, 10. Jasprit Bumrah, 11. Yuzvendra Chahal, 12. Shubman Gill, 13. Sanju Samson (WK), 14. Rinku Singh 15. Khaleel Ahmed
16. Yashasvi Jaiswal, 17. Harshit Rana, 18. Tilak Varma, 19. Abhishek Sharma, 20. Avesh Khan
1. Rohit Sharma (C), 2. Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli currently are the best bet for India’s choice for the T20 World Cup for the opening slot. The numbers do favour both the veterans. Rohit will lead India in the T20 World Cup, which makes him the automatic choice. And the five-time IPL-winning captain will only bat in the top 2. Kohli has staked a strong claim and left behind his younger contenders with a stellar IPL 2024 so far, notching up 350+ runs in just eight matches. He is currently leading the Orange Cap List in IPL 2024. Even though Kohli, as an opener, has played only nine T20I games and the combo of Rohit and Virat have opened only one in T20Is, there is little doubt over Kohli the opener after his performance in IPL 2024. There have been reports of Kohli asking the selectors for clarity about his selection in the T20 World Cup, and if he has been given that clarity, Kohli is not leaving much of an option for the selectors to look beyond him.
India’s Best Middle-order
3. Suryakumar Yadav, 4. Rishabh Pant (WK), 5. Hardik Pandya
Suryakumar Yadav is returning from injury but has shown in his five games that he has kept his mojo. Yes, he has two ducks to his name, but he has also managed two half-centuries, and he has been striking at 166.66. Rishabh Pant at No.4 looks like a lock-in, even though Sanju Samson in the middle-order has far superior numbers than the DC skipper, but being the only left-hander in the top 5 may work in Pant’s favour; also, he has been terrific behind the stumps as well showing no signs of the traumatic injury and the subsequent lengthy rehabilitation process he had to undergo. It will be touch and go between Pant and Samson, but Pant may be the selector’s first choice. We now move to No.5 – the holder role – part anchor-part finisher. By being the vice-captain (most likely), Hardik Pandya will likely find a place in the playing XI. By what he has been doing for MI with the ball – operating with the new ball – Pandya could open the bowling with Bumrah, allowing India to keep their other pacers for the middle order and the death.
India’s Best Allrounders
5. Hardik Pandya, 7. Ravindra Jadeja
With Pandya in at 5, India can afford to have one more genuine allrounder in Ravindra Jadeja. He has not had much of a hit with the bat, but under pressure, you would want a clutch player like Jadeja walking into bat at No.7. His bowling has been far more impressive this season, and even though he does not have the wickets to show, he has been very accurate and has stifled batters in the middle-orders
India’s Best Finishers
6. Shivam Dube
Shivam Dube looks like the best out-and-out option with the bat to don the finisher role. The big hitter has flourished under Chennai Super Kings and has been brutal to spinners and pacers. Keeping the assumption that the USA and West Indies wickets will be on the slower side, Dube’s teeing-off capability will be a death sentence for the bowlers. He has overcome his inability to play express pace and short pitch deliveries, so he is an ideal bet to be India’s finisher.
India’s Best Spinners
7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. Kuldeep Yadav. 11. Yuzvendra Chahal
We cannot have envisioned the return of ‘Kul-cha’, but Yuzvendra Chahal’s stunning returns in IPL 2024 – where he is currently second only to Jasprit Bumrah – in the Purple Cap tally must force selectors to look at Chahal. India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is has already been hard done by, having not played the previous two T20 World Cups. He was part of the squad in 2020 but did not get a game, and in 2022, selectors favoured Rahul Chahar ahead of the Haryana leggie. This time, no one comes close to Chahal, barring maybe Kuldeep. And again, with the assumption that the tracks will be on the slower side, it would be prudent for India to go with a spin-heavy attack, meaning both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing XI.
India’s Best Fast Bowlers
9. Arshdeep Singh, 10. Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah and the rest. As expected, Bumrah’s returns in IPL 2024 have been nothing short of sensational, but the puzzle the selectors have to solve is the support act for their strike bowler. In the absence of Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj is India’s next most experienced bowler, but the RCB bowler’s returns have been pretty good this IPL season. He has leaked runs at 10.34 and only five wickets for his efforts. RCB had to drop their premier fast bowler. So, if you disregard Siraj, you are left with the left-arm options of Arshdeep Singh and the seam bowling of Pandya. If India plays with three spinners, two frontline pacers and one seam-bowling allrounder, it should do the job for India
India’s Best Backup Options
12. Shubman Gill, 13. Sanju Samson (WK), 14. Rinku Singh 15. Khaleel Ahmed
Shubman Gill is the most likely to travel as the backup opener to both Kohli and Rohit, and his numbers have been good enough to beat other contenders, namely Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma. Even though Rahul could make a case as a backup opener and keeper, you have Sanju Samson, who is breathing down Pant’s neck for a spot in the XI itself. By form, Samson is a lock-in in the 15, and if India is enterprising enough, they could try and find a place for Samson in the XI alongside Pant. As a backup finisher, Rinku Singh is the next best option to Shivam Dube, and the left-arm Khaleel Ahmed should run off the 15 owing to his decent performances with the ball for DC this IPL season.
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