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Former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan picked his Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and the West Indies. There has been a lot of discourse about what could be India's squad for the showpiece T20 event with opinions being based on the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Picking his squad, Zaheer Khan made a shocking inclusion in the bowling attack as he named Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Yash Dayal as a replacement for Mohammed Shami. Khan believes Dayal could emerge as a viable option to bowl with a new ball.
If you need someone to bowl up: Khan on Yash Dayal
Zaheer Khan, while speaking to Jio Cinema, said, "When I talk about Yash Dayal, it's a floating spot when the 15 are announced because Mohammed Shami will not be available for the tournament. He's one bowler that if you need someone to bowl up, you have Yash Dayal. If you want a back-end bowler and if Siraj's form is spotty, he can be used there as well."
Your travelling reserve can be your wicketkeeper: Zaheer Khan for one Wk
Talking about his wicketkeeping option, Zaheer Khan picked just one option in Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant. The 2011 World Cup winner expressed that he wanted to pick four pacers in his squad and hence named just one keeper.
Khan said, "Rishabh Pant is my only wicket-keeper. I have given more importance to bringing four pace bowlers. You don't want to sacrifice a fast bowler for another wicketkeeper. You have options like KL Rahul, and Sanju Samson, and many want to see Dinesh Karthik. At this point, we can consider Mahendra Singh Dhoni as well because of his strike rate! I think they'll focus on current players like Samson, KL Rahul, and maybe even Jitesh Sharma. If you're building a team for a month-long tournament, your travelling reserve can be your wicketkeeper."
Zaheer Khan's India squad for T20 World Cup
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh
All-Rounders: Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja
Wicket-Keeper: Rishabh Pant
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Dayal, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.