The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced their 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup with Rohit Sharma set to lead the side yet again. The squad had little to no surprises apart from a couple of spots with Rinku Singh being picked despite his performances for India but the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja was included despite meagre returns in the format recently and even in the ongoing season of the IPL.
The third pacer's spot was going to be a point of discussion given apart from Jasprit Bumrah, no one really stood out in the IPL. Arshdeep Singh was always going to get picked given his exploits in the last T20 World Cup in Australia and his ability to swing the ball upfront and bowl at the death as well. Siraj, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma were a few options, and the management and the selectors went with tried and tested option given that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer is part of the team across all three formats.
Sandeep Sharma, who has been in terrific form for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024, was the one to be snubbed. However, he did have an outside chance given his performance in the powerplay, middle overs and at the death too. Sandeep despite not being an express pacer, has done well for the Royals and with his accuracy and control over lines and lengths has gotten the success including a five-wicket haul in the tournament so far.
Expectedly, Sandeep was disappointed with the snub and reacted on social media saying, "The Only Thing You Can Control Is Your Hard Work And Never Give Up Attitude."
India can still make a change or two to their squad, however, Sandeep not being included also in the travelling reserves suggests that he could miss that flight to the Americas.
India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Travelling Reserves: Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan
