5 Major Talking Points From India's T20 World Cup 2024 Squad

BCCI announced the Indian Cricket Team’s 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 to be played in the West Indies and United States of America starting in June. Team India will head into the tournament under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.  Hardik Pandya has been named vice-captain while Yuzvendra Chahal returns to the Indian squad after a long time.

K.L. Rahul has missed out on selection while Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson are two great picks for the upcoming tournament. The Men in Blues will start their campaign on 5th June 2024 when they face Ireland in the group-stage game. The announcement has left many questions amongst the fans so here are the five major talking points from India's squad.

Read Also: ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Squads of Every Team

6 Major Talking Points From India's T20 World Cup 2024 Squad

Hardik Pandya's Selection

Hardik Pandya's struggles in the 2024 IPL with bat and ball have not come in the way of him being selected for the team as the team is also retaining him as the vice-captain. Hardik is the only seam-bowling all-rounder option with Team India. Hardik is one of the very few fast-bowling all-rounders in India. But with the lack of bowling, especially poor bowling, the selection will be very tough. He has failed to perform with the bat too. The MI captain has scored only 197 runs in 9 matches at a poor average of 24.62. His strike rate is also questionable for a batter who bats in the death overs. 

Rinku Singh's Exclusion

Rinku Singh has a brilliant record of 356 runs in 11 innings with an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.2 with two half-centuries and has played the role of a finisher perfectly. However, his lack of opportunities in the 2024 IPL has cost him a place in the national team for the mega event. Rinku's absence from the squad raises major questions among fans with IPL forms getting favoured in comparison to International performances. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja have struggled in the IPL 2024 season and still have been selected in the 15-member squad.

Shivam Dube's Inclusion

Shivam Dube has been called up in the 15-member squad. Dube hasn't played in enough International matches but he has performed quite well in recent times. Shivam Dube is scoring at a sensational strike rate in every match this season in IPL. Dube was the Man of the Series against Afghanistan with two half-centuries. He has been one of the most important players for CSK, scoring 350 runs already this season. Dube has scored 276 runs in 14 innings for India in T20Is, with an average of 39.4 and a strike rate of 145.3. Dube has not bowled a single over for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2024 season.

Yuzvendra Chahal's Call-up

Chahal has not played for the national team since August. Bishnoi won the Man of the Series award in the home series against Australia and gave brilliant performances against Afghanistan too. He has picked up 14 wickets this season but his economy is concerning. He was unlucky to miss out on the squad in 2021 and be on the bench in 2022 when he should have been the main spinner of the team. Chahal has experience and he may prove to be a good call from BCCI.

Four Spinners in The Squad

India have included four spinners in the 15-man squad, with two wrist spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) and two all-rounders/left-arm spinners (Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja). India expecting slow pitches in the West Indies and USA and is prepared to play an XI with three spinners. However, the big question is who is going to be the first choice between Axar and Jadeja with their similar skillset with the ball. 

Rishabh Pant's comeback

DC skipper Rishabh Pant has displayed a stupendous performance in IPL 2024. He scored 371 runs in 10 matches. Rishabh Pant has made a sensational return to competitive cricket after the horrific car accident in December 2022. The fans were excited to see him in action for so long and he has come a long way from that incident.