Rohit Sharma on India’s T20 WC combination. While the team is full of familiar faces, the contentious wicketkeeper-batter position saw both Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson earn spots in the 15-man squad.
The BCCI’s Ajit Agarkar-led national selection committee has announced the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will take place in the United States and the Caribbean in June. While the team is full of familiar faces, the contentious wicketkeeper-batter position saw both Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson earn spots in the 15-man squad.
The explosive Shivam Dube, who has demonstrated his prowess with the willow for Chennai Super Kings in IPL matches, joins the lineup. Yuzvendra Chahal’s return, boosted by his stellar IPL performance, highlighted the selectors’ preference for experienced players.
Rohit Sharma has been given the leadership role, as expected, with Hardik Pandya serving as his deputy. KL Rahul is noticeably absent from the squad, with selectors reportedly emphasising the need for more aggressive middle-order options. However, the exclusion of Rinku Singh, a standout finisher in recent T20 formats, sparked concern. Singh has been relegated to the reserves, alongside Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan, and Khaleel Ahmed.
When discussing the T20 World Cup team composition, Rohit Sharma emphasized the importance of taking into account a variety of factors, including pitch conditions and opposition strategies. He emphasized the need for a strong middle-order batsman, with Shivam Dube emerging as a leading contender during the IPL.
“I’m not sure how the pitch will be in the USA. We are playing in the West Indies, but at different venues. You must also consider the opposing team’s combinations. We looked into middle-order hitting. Our top-order hitting has been adequate, though not particularly impressive. We wanted someone who could freely play that role in the middle overs, regardless of who was bowling. When asked about the team’s composition, Rohit Sharma stated that Shivam Dube was the one who demonstrated this in the IPL.
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Won’t go too much details of the XI: Rohit
With the tournament set to begin in uncertain pitch conditions, Sharma emphasised the importance of adaptability and flexibility in match strategy.
“Won’t go into too many details [about the XI]. I definitely wanted four spinners. We played a lot of cricket there. We know the circumstances. The match begins at 10-10:30. There is little technical aspect to this. I’ll reveal more details later, but not right now in public. But I wanted four spinners and three seamers, with Hardik as the fourth [seamer]. Sharma concluded that Jaddu [Ravindra Jadeaj] and Axar [Patel] can bat, as well as Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep [Yadav], two spinners.
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