Team India squad for T20 World Cup 2024 – A fine study of youth blended with experience

As the T20 World Cup is almost upon us, Team India will be hoping to redeem themselves from a drought that has seen them go trophyless in ICC tournaments for more than a decade now. They came mighty close and would have actually forged history as the Invincibles in the 2023 World Cup but a defeat in the final left them reeling in excruciating agony.

The last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022 saw Virat Kohli spearheading the Indian charge but that wasn’t enough for the Men in Blue to overcome the English hurdle in the semi-final as they were completely outplayed by the eventual champions of the tournament.

The squad announced for this year’s tournament will witness a few subtle changes to the side which otherwise has stark resemblance to the one in 2022. With the top-order comprising Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant, the Men in Blue will be entering uncharted territories with the return of Ravindra Jadeja.

One important question that will be looming large is who amongst the two left-handers, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal gets to make the cut for the Indian team. Or does India have enough bandwidth with the ball to eventually bring both the players into the mix? All these questions will of course be doing major rounds for the Indian thinktank before they eventually decide the playing XI.

A major relief for Team India in the tournament will be the return of a primed Jasprit Bumrah who has been in smoking hot form ever since his comeback injury while the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav provides Rohit and company with an excellent spinning option who left stalwarts of the sport scratching their heads for answer in the 2023 World Cup.

Strengths:

One of India’s key strengths will obviously be Virat Kohli being in form. Apart from his explosive numbers, his recent strike rate is going to be another added boost to India’s momentum up front.

Suryakumar Yadav’s presence in the ranks simply warrants a whirlwind of runs being scored in the most genius fashion while raking up a storm that will blow the bowlers away.

Jasprit Bumrah is always going to be a top name considering the sheer force he has been. From toe-crushing yorkers to heart-stopping rib-rattlers, Jasprit is going to be India’s heartthrob in the upcoming extravaganza.

Areas to work on:

In the last edition of the tournament the Indian batting unit lacked consistency and that seemed a major trouble for the Men in Blue in the semis. They will be hoping for their entire batting order to fire home with pomp and panache.

X-Factor:

Rishabh Pant gave a jumpstart to the Indian engines against Bangladesh in the warm-up contest and his return to the side is a massive catalyst. His left-handed showmanship laced with some incredible striking flair makes him a force supreme.

Squad:

Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj

Reserves:

Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan