The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has largely zeroed down on the 20 players, who they think could be in and around the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, which may consist least surprises. As per a PTI report, tried and tested players would be on the flight to the Caribbean and the United States for the marquee T20 tournament given they are in form, apart from a change here or there keeping IPL performances in mind.
The report stated that there is a toss-up between one of Shubman Gill or Yashasvi Jaiswal in the squad of 15 apart from a few players in the running for the second wicketkeeper's spot with Rishabh Pant acquiring the first one. Sanju Samson is facing competition from the likes of KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan and Jitesh Sharma. Jitesh, however, could be the last in the running and is highly likely to miss out on the squad despite being the first-choice keeper in T20s for the Indian team prior to the IPL.
"There would not be any experimentation or left-field selections. All those who have played for India and have done well consistently in T20 Internationals and the IPL will be rewarded," a BCCI official was quoted as saying in the report.
The wicketkeeper's decision could also be taken with those batters' position. Rahul and Ishan are opening for their respective IPL sides while Sanju is batting in the middle order and so are Pant and Jitesh.
Another point of discussion is likely to be for the third spinner with Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav taking the first two spots. Will India be ready to take a leg-spinner with Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi competing for the same or Axar could get in because of his batting skills? Interesting few days ahead.
India's 20 probables for the T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan
(With PTI inputs)
