Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav
NEW DELHI: India's captain,
Rohit Sharma
, emphasized the team management's unwavering clarity in selecting four spinners for the T20 World Cup in the Americas. Rohit underscored that the IPL played a minimal role in shaping the final 15-member squad.
The decision to include four spinners alongside three pacers has elicited varied opinions. Among them,
Kuldeep Yadav
and
Yuzvendra Chahal
represent the wrist-spin department, while
Ravindra Jadeja
and
Axar Patel
offer left-arm spin options along with their all-round abilities.
Rohit's remarks shed light on the strategic vision guiding India's selection process, signaling a calculated approach tailored to suit the conditions expected in the upcoming tournament.
"I don't want to go into details on this. I definitely wanted four spinners. We have played a lot of cricket there. The match starts at 10 am in the morning. There is a technical aspect involved in this," Rohit said in a press conference to address queries on the squad selection in Mumbai.
"The reason for picking four spinners is something I won't reveal now. I definitely wanted our spinners. With two of them being all-rounders and two attacking options, it gives you balance. Based on opposition, we can decide who to play," added the skipper.
Rohit highlighted the meticulous attention given to addressing India's requirements in the crucial middle overs during the squad selection on Tuesday. The decision to include Shivam Dube over Rinku Singh has sparked a divergence of opinions.
Dube's selection suggests a strategic emphasis on bolstering the team's middle-order batting and providing additional bowling options.
"We've got to understand what the pitches will be like and the opposition composition. One thing we really looked at is our middle overs hitting. Our top order hitting has been alright, it has not been bad.
"There are other options there as well. We picked a guy based on his performance in the IPL and a few games he played for India. There is no guarantee what our playing eleven will look like," he said referring to Dube.
The captain added that he had figured out 70 to 80 per cent of the squad before the IPL.
"You sort of make the playing eleven in your mind and work around it. A lot of preparations and talks and guys playing games happen during the IPL, lot of them are playing the format for a while now
"The talk of what is final 15 is going to be started much before the IPL. These are just a few spots we had to look at in the IPL.
"In IPL performances change everyday. Anyone will come and score a hundred or to take five wickets. We knew 70-80 percent of our squad (before the IPL)," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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