DRS, May 1: Time to move over IPL as focus shifts after T20 World Cup squad announcement

The focus has shifted from IPL 2024 to the T20 World Cup squad as the selectors announced the highly-anticipated 15-member side for the marquee event. Ahead of the May 1 deadline, the selectors finalized the squad that will head to the USA and Caribbean in hunt of their 2nd World Cup trophy after 2007. And as expected, the announcement was studded with many surprises and disappointments.

First off, young Yashasvi Jaiswal was named in the 15-member squad while Shubman Gill was named in the reserve. Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal will make a comeback to the squad while Rinku Sing, unfortunately, has been named in the reserves. KL Rahul was left out of the squad. Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya earned their spots as the all-rounders in the squad. The pace department comprises of Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. Let’s take a look at some of the hits and misses from India’s T20 World Cup squad that was announced on Tuesday.

No space for Rinku Singh!

The biggest talking point about the squad is the absence of Rinku Singh in the 15-member side. It is safe to say that the selection has the squad has largely been dependent on the form of the players in the ongoing IPL. In nine matches, Rinku Singh has managed to score just 123 runs while other players competing for the spot have fared way better.

At last, Sanju Samson gets a chance

Sanju Samson is finally going to play for India in the T20 World Cup 2024. Sanju fans, who have been desperately waiting for this day, are now on cloud seven as the BCCI selectors have finally called up him to strengthen their batting lineup in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

The return of Kul-Cha

Yuzvendra Chahal finally returns to the India side in the T20 World Cup squad and will reunite with his spin twin Kuldeep Yadav. Chahal, who has not been in the favour of selectors, spins his way into the side with impressive performances in the IPL. This will also be the first time that fans get to see the Kul-Cha duo appear side by side at a marquee event for India.

Vice-captain Hardik Pandya

The selectors put an end to the debate over the vice-captain as they named Hardik Pandya as Rohit Sharma’s deputy for the T20 World Cup. Earlier, reports suggested that Rishabh Pant was a frontrunner for the position alongside Hardik, casting aspersions on whether Pandya would be in a leadership position. In February, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had confirmed that Hardik would be the vice-captain while Rohit will lead the side.

Miracle Man’s miraculous comeback

Being inches away from death to representing India once again, that too at the highest level, is something Rishabh Pant would have been dreaming of for the last 15-16 months. That dreaded day has brought a lot of pain to Rishabh Pant, and so he’ll cherish this opportunity even more and give his all to lead the India cricket team to ultimate glory. 

Mayank Yadav’s bonhomie with injury

Lucknow Super Giants were dealt with a severe blow as their main speedster Mayank Yadav walked off the field once again, after facing a side strain, on his comeback from the same injury. The pacer, who raked up speeds of over 155 kmph in the IPL 2024, could only bowl 3.1 overs in his spell against Mumbai Indians, claiming figures of 1/31.

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