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With the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) coming to its business end, the action is now shifting towards the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, set to be played in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA). With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announcing its squad for the marquee event, there were several eyebrows on the selection of a few players.
While Rohit Sharma was appointed the captain of the side for the 2024 T20 World Cup, Hardik Pandya has been shouldered the responsibility of his deputy. Suryakumar Yadav, being the top-ranked T20I batter comes out to be the oblivious pick, Rishabh Pant was called in along with Sanju Samson as India’s two wicketkeepers.
Apart from questions on the omission of players like Rinku Singh and Shubman Gill, there were several a lot of concerns on out-of-form Hardik Pandya. But recently, Jay Shah, the BCCI Secretary, opened up on the Indian all-rounder’s selection in the side despite being out of action midway through the ODI World Cup 2023 due to injury.
Shah, in a chat with the Times of India clarified that the selection cannot be based on IPL performance only, even international experience matters. However, his remarks did not come directly for Hardik Pandya as he said, “It has a good balance between form and experience. The selectors cannot choose on the basis of IPL performance alone, as overseas experience is also necessary.”
Earlier, a report in Dainik Jagran claimed that neither Rohit Sharma nor the selection committee, led by former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar was in favour of selecting Hardik Pandya. The same report had also added that Hardik was picked under “pressure”.
Speaking of the 30-year-old, who last featured in the Indian colours in the ODI World Cup 2024, led the five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at the IPL 2024. However, he could not lead the side to the playoffs as they were the first to get knocked out of the tournament. Furthermore, the Indian all-rounder amassed only 200 runs from 12 innings and scalped 11 wickets in 11 innings in IPL 2024.
