Goemkarponn Desk
MUMBAI: The Indian cricket team’s 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 is likely to be finalised by the end of April in order to stick with the ICC’s May 1 cut-off date for the provisional roster. According to reports, captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh are certainties in India’s T20 World Cup squad.
The remaining five slots will be finalised based on the player’s IPL 2024 performance in the first four weeks of the ongoing T20 tournament. A BCCI source told news agency PTI that the national selection committee is unlikely to include any new player for the T20 World Cup.
“There would not be any experimentation or left-field selections. All those who have played for India and have done well consistently in T20 Internationals and the IPL will be rewarded,” the BCCI official was quoted as saying to the news agency.
It is also reported that captain Rohit Sharma and former skipper Virat Kohli could open for India at the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States starting from June 2.
With the IPL 2024 already witnessing some impressive individual performances from Indian players, fans and experts are still debating on the back-up opener, second-choice wicketkeeper, one finisher slot in the middle-order and the back-up spinner.
With the marquee ICC tournament fast approaching, we pick the remaining five slots from the 10 contenders to select the final 15.
Shubman Gill vs Yashasvi Jaiswal
The two young cricketers are expected to compete for the back-up opener’s slot. While Rohit and Virat are the automatic selections, Shubman Gill is likely to be preferred over Yashasvi Jaiswal on his current form. GT captain Gill has been in good form in IPL 2024, having scored 263 runs in seven matches, including two fifties. On the other hand, RR opener Jaiswal has struggled in the ongoing T20 tournament with just 121 runs in seven games.
Second choice wicket-keeper
After his brilliant comeback in the IPL following a near-fatal car crash, DC captain Rishabh Pant has almost sealed his place as first-choice wicket-keeper at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, India is expected to pick another wicket-keeper in the 15-member squad. Sanju Samson and KL Rahul are the contenders to be the second-choice wicket-keeper. However, Sanju has been in better form than Rahul in IPL 2024 so far. While Sanju has amassed 276 runs in seven matches, Rahul has 204 runs. Based on the current form, Sanju could be picked in the final 15.