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The T20 World Cup Squad of the Indian cricket team is going to be announced soon. According to two reports, Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma is going to meet BCCI selectors in Delhi on the sidelines of Mumbai Indians IPL 2024 match against Delhi Capitals this weekend. The deadline to announce the provisional squad is May 1. It means that the squad is likely to be announced anytime soon. Several experts have been picking their choice of 15 member squad for the T20 World Cup.
While some names are common, there are question marks over the others. We at NDTV did a mini poll and have come up with our take on the best 15 who are likely to be selected for the T20 World Cup. This squad is a hypothesis based on form and team equation.
Openers/top 3
Four common names have come out in the polls - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill. Rohit Sharma has already been declared the skipper while Virat Kohli is currently the top run-getter in the IPL 2024, though some doubts remain over his strike-rate. But it can be safely concluded that both will be in.
Gill and Jaiswal are two interesting young choices as openers. The left-handed opener Jaiswal has scored a ton and has a tally of 225 in eight matches at an average of 32.14 and SR of 157.34. The right-handed Gill has 304 runs in nine games at a strike-rate of 146.15 and average of 38. So, clearly there is not much to differentiate both. But, that Jaiswal is left-handed adds another dimension to the top-order.
Jaiswal has got the major backing to open with Rohit , with Virat Kohli coming in at No. 3. Gill may have to miss out due to other permutation and combination.
Middle-order
This is a tricky part, which will most likely decide the course of the match for India on most occasions. Suryakumar Yadav is a certainty here while CSK's big-hitting left-handed all-rounder Shivam Dube (though he hasn't bowled) looks to be the other top choice. Rinku Singh is another option but his low game-time in Kolkata Knight Riders means that he may not be part of the playing XI.
Allrounders
There is an unanimous take that Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja should be the allrounders and in the XI. Pandya, though out of form, is the only Indian fast bowling allrounder of repute currently. Players like Nitish Kumar Reddy are too new to be inducted straight into the squad. Ravindra Jadeja as left-handed spin allrounder is great. Axar Patel's name is also doing the rounds but his name has not found a place in NDTV's squad.
Wicketkeeper
Everyone's first choice is Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson as the back-up option.
Spinners
Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are the overwhelming choice in our poll. Though Ravi Bishnoi has got a minor backing too. Kuldeep seems more likely to make it to the XI, if only two spinners are played, with Jadeja being the other.
Pacers
This is again interesting. Barring Jasprit Bumrah, none of the other Indian pacers have left a mark in the IPL 2024. This is a great mater of concern. Arshdeep Singh has the backing going by recent international matches, while Mohammed Siraj is a veteran option. But, interestingly NDTV's internal poll has seen the name of T Natarajan emerge as a strong contender. T Natarajan, after recovering from injury, has bowled almost perfect for SunRisers Hyderabad. For the third pacer, Arshdeep has got more votes than Siraj.
Conclusion: Had a 16-member squad been picked, it would have been easy. But a 15-member squad means that one big star will have to miss out. We think that Shubman Gill may end up being a back-up rather than in the regular squad, purely for the fact that India are already loaded with right-handed top-order options.
India's T20 World Cup squad by NDTV: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, T Natarajan, Rinku Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh
Back-up: Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj
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