India announce squad for T20 World Cup; Pant and Samson included, KL Rahul misses out

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be hosted in the West Indies and USA, starting on June 1. Rohit Sharma will lead India in the showpiece tournament while Hardik Pandya will be his deputy.

India have added two wicket-keepers, including Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, to the squad. Star batter Virat Kohli, who has been slamming runs in the ongoing IPL 2024 has also been added into the squad.

Pant is set to make a comeback to team India, around 16 months after meeting with a car crash on the Delhi-Dehradun highway in Uttarakhand in 2022. India have opted for four spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal to their squad.

India’s squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 announced

Let's get ready to cheer for #TeamIndia #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/jIxsYeJkYW

— BCCI (@BCCI) April 30, 2024

Among the notable inclusion is Yuzvendra Chahal, who was named in the team for a T20 World Cup for the very first time.

India will head into the tournament with the powerful pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah with Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj adding more boost. Samson got a place in the 15-member squad while the selectors overlooked wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul and Rinku Singh. Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan have been named as reserved players.

India will begin their World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 05, 2024, at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan on June 09, 2024 at the same venue. India will then play USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.

India are placed in Group A of the tournament alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA. Their campaign begins on 5 June against Ireland at the newly-constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York before they take on Pakistan in one of the most awaited matches of the upcoming T20 World Cup.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), 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, Mohammed Siraj. Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan. (ANI)