The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. India are placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and co-hosts USA in the tournament, which is set to begin on June 2 (IST) and will conclude on June 29. The tournament will have India beginning their campaign on June 5 against Ireland before clashing against neighbours Pakistan in one of the most exciting encounters of the marquee tournament.
Rohit Sharma will lead the squad, whereas all-rounder Hardik Pandya will shoulder the responsibility. Pandya received the national call after the ODI World Cup 2023, where he was ruled out midway through the tournament. Apart from him, several youngsters have been picked to represent India at the marquee ICC event. Not only this but spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is set to make his long-awaited return to the squad.
With all this background, SportsTiger presents India’s probable playing XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (C) and Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma will lead the team and he is most likely to open India’s batting with modern-day batting icon and former skipper Virat Kohli. Both Sharma and Kohli, last featured in the India T20I jersey in the three-match series against Afghanistan after the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia where they lost the semi-final clash to England. Sharma, who turned 37 on Tuesday, has played 151 T20Is in his career and has been India’s first choice as the opener as well as the captain.
Several questions were raised and fingers were pointed at Kohli about his inclusion in the World Cup squad, but he shut all his trolls with his power-packed performances in the Indian Premier League 2024. Kohli is currently the Orange Cap holder with 500 runs to his name from the 10 matches he played for RCB thus far.
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Middle Order: Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant
Sanju Samson has been delivering blistering performances in the 2024 IPL and has been doing great as a captain as well as a batter for his franchise Rajasthan Royals. He is currently sitting at the sixth spot in the IPL 2024 charts with 385 runs averaging at 77.00 and a strike rate of 161.08. Apart from that, his wicketkeeping skills make him capable of turning the tide of a match.
Suryakumar Yadav also received his call to travel to the USA and WI on the upcoming assignment. Yadav proved to be a star turnout for the team in the previous edition of the World Cup 2022 in Australia, where he smashed three half-centuries in six innings with an impressive strike rate of 189.68 in the marquee tournament. He has also been in decent form in the 17th edition of the IPL.
The star-studded squad will also see the return of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. The young cricketer who is currently leading Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2024, was out of action for more than a year due to his fatal accident. In the IPL, he has so far scored 398 runs with an average of 44.22.
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All-rounders: Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja
Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Shivam Dube garnered attention for his exceptional performance in the IPL 2024. He has scored more than 350 runs with a strike rate of 172.41 and would be expected to deliver the same kind of performance in the upcoming event. The squad also saw Hardik Pandya returning to the national side. While his IPL performance has been questionable, Pandya’s expected to do justice to his role with his batting and seam bowling.
Ravindra Jadeja is India’s one of four spin options to take on the opponents in the forthcoming tournament. Not only this, but his capabilities as an all-rounder would add depth to the squad’s composition.
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Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Spin wizard Kuldeep Yadav along with the powerhouse duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj can always be entrusted with adding new dimensions to the bowling attack. Bumrah has been in fabulous form ever since he made his comeback to the national team after his injury. He delivered an impressive performance in the series against England and continued the form in the IPL 2024. Mohammed Siraj has delivered some remarkable performances off late and would come off a lethal bowler in the World Cup 2024 as well.
