T20 World Cup 2024: 5 players who might not feature in India's squad
The T20 World Cup will be back in June 2024. The marquee tournament will be played in the West Indies and the United States. The Indian fans will strive to quench their International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy thirst which has been going on for over a decade. With the T20 extravaganza less than five months away, all players gear up to showcase their best in the upcoming months to break into the squad.
Rohit Sharma has made a comeback in the three-match T20 International (T20I) series against Afghanistan at home. Another senior stalwart Virat Kohli has also returned. On one hand, some players will be looking to grab the opportunity they will get before the T20I event while on the other hand, some big names might go missing from India’s 2024 T20 World Cup side as selectors have snubbed them from the T20I team.
Here are five players who may not feature in the T20 World Cup 2024:
5. Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad looked spectacular with the bat in the five-match T20I series against Australia in November-December. In the third T20I played at the Barsapara Stadium, he scored an unbeaten 123 and brought his first international ton. Despite witnessing his stunning performance, the team management didn’t give him a chance in the playing XI in the T20I series in South Africa.
With Rohit’s return to the squad, it’s unlikely for Gaikwad to get a spot in the 2024 T20 World Cup side as the team management has decided to go ahead with Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, instead of the 26-year-old Chennai Super Kings (CSK) sensation.
4. Shreyas Iyer
The team management has dropped Shreyas Iyer from the side as there are a lot of batting options in the middle order. The right-handed batter scored a half-century in his last T20I game played in Bengaluru against Australia. However, selectors chose to ignore him as they have several names who have looked better than Iyer in cricket’s shortest format.
Talking about the 2024 T20 World Cup, India will look to go with Suryakumar Yadav, who is known as a T20 specialist and can also deliver excellent numbers to the side in the middle order. The team might witness the return of Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant as well by the T20 World Cup. Both batters are more experienced than Iyer in T20Is and they can be trusted over the 29-year-old.
3. Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal might see his name missing from the T20 World Cup squad again after the 2021 edition. Back in 2022, he went to Australia with the team but didn’t get any matches from the management. This time, selectors might deny him a place in the team as Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are nailing their roles to perfection.
The team management is also giving opportunities to the young wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi. Thus far, Bishnoi has looked good for India in T20I format. With all three spinners looking in great touch, the 33-year-old will have to display his bowling mettle for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) edition. In case, he fails to be impressive with the ball in the cash-rich tournament, the team management will not hesitate to go with the other three alternatives.
2. KL Rahul
KL Rahul has not got a spot in India’s T20I squad against Afghanistan. After noting Rohit and Kohli’s names in the team for the series, cricket analysts are deciphering the reason behind Rahul’s exclusion. Like both senior stalwarts, Rahul was also dropped from the T20I side after India’s embarrassing defeat against England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide.
In December 2023, Rahul expressed his desire to serve the team in T20Is as a middle-order batter. However, with the presence of young players such as Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh, his comeback looks unlikely. The 31-year-old will also get stern competition from Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma, who are vying to win the wicketkeeper-batter’s spot.
1. Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami did wonders with the ball for India in the 2023 World Cup and ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 24 wickets in seven games at an economy of 5.26. However, despite his outstanding performances, the team management is adamant to not induct the pacer in India’s T20I side.
Shami, who is 33 years old, might not be getting a place in the team due to his advancing age. Instead of the speedster, selectors are trying pacers such as Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep Singh. The veteran paceman hasn’t featured in T20Is since November 2022 and now it’s likely that he might never get an opportunity to feature in India’s team for the shortest format again.
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