Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan has picked the 15 players whom he wants to see in India's squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 tournament.
A member of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2007, Irfan has mentioned a few interesting names in his T20 World Cup team, including the Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya, who has been struggling for rhythm in the IPL 2024 season.
Though Hardik is a part of the team that Irfan wants to see at the T20 World Cup, the retired cricketer has specified an intriguing yardstick that Hardik has to match to be certain of a spot.
Irfan took to his X account to name the 15 India players that he wants to see at the T20 carnival. While he didn't outline a parameter for others, he specifically mentioned that Hardik needs to bowl "regularly" to keep a place in the 15.
Notably, the Mumbai Indians captain has claimed only four wickets at an expensive economy rate of 10.94. Hardik's form with the ball is not the only concern as he has not performed as well as he would have wanted to with the bat either.
Hardik has just aggregated 151 runs in eight games for Mumbai at an average of 21.57. His strike rate is 142.45.
The 39-year-old former India cricketer also picked Rishabh Pant who has returned to competitive cricket for the first time since suffering a horrific incident in December 2022.
Pant's IPL 2024 numbers make for a good reading. The southpaw has scored 254 runs in eight games at an average of 36.29 and has biffed the ball at a strike rate of 150.30.
He has affected three stumpings, grabbed eight catches in the season thus far and has been leading Delhi Capitals (DC).
Irfan Pathan's India squad for T20 World Cup 2024:
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya (provided he is bowling regularly), Rinku Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Ravi Bishnoi/Yuzi Chahal, Shubman Gill/ Sanju Samson
Travelling reserves:
2 Fast bowlers, wicket-keeper, batsman
