India’s Squad for T20 World Cup 2024 – Every Major Question & Possible Answers

Answering every major question about India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, ahead of the announcement.

India Squad T20 world cup 2024 – all major questions answered

(Photo: BCCI/Altered by The Quint)

It is a rare sight when – be it for a fleeting moment – the cricket assemblage of India, divided by their regional loyalties over the last month, unites for the bigger cause – the national team – despite the Indian Premier League (IPL) being underway, in all its glory. 

The reason being, by 1 May, the Senior Men’s Selection Committee will have to name a 15-member squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. With the wounds of 19 November 2023 still fresh, this competition is being touted as India’s bid for redemption, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah even ‘promising’ that India will lift the trophy.

But before they embark on that mission, let’s delve into who might and might not be on the flight to the United States of America and the West Indies.

Who Are the ‘All but Certain’ Names in the Squad?

Before getting into the complexities, let us first talk about the certainties – players, whose places are all but secured.

Around this time last year, Hardik Pandya might have envisioned himself leading the team, albeit recent developments have all but obliterated the possibility, with Shah having already announced Rohit Sharma as the captain.

The current Orange Cap and Purple Cap owners at the IPL 2024, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are among the other certain names on the squad. 

Barring the prized trio, Suryakumar Yadav – number one ranked T20I batter in ICC rankings, Hardik Pandya – though not the leader anymore but still India’s number one T20I all-rounder in the ICC rankings, and Ravindra Jadeja – boasting 66 T20I appearances, are also among the certains.

The Major Questions  

With five of the fifteen places occupied, let us know shift our attention to the major questions.

Q1 – Who Will Open Alongside Rohit Sharma?

India squad for T20 World Cup 2024: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill are the contenders to be skipper Rohit Sharma's opening partner.

(Photo: BCCI/Altered by The Quint)

Tackling the issue from a top-down approach, the first major dilemma pertains to skipper Rohit Sharma’s opening partner. For this position, we have a couple of candidates.

The candidates:

• Yashasvi Jaiswal

• Shubman Gill

Since India’s ill-fated semi-final clash against England at the 2022 T20 World Cup, Jaiswal has played 16 T20Is for India, whilst Gill has played 14 matches. Albeit the latter is ahead on runs scored, Jaiswal has both a better average, and more importantly, a better strike rate.

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Yashasvi Jaiswal	16	310	33.5	161.9
Shubman Gill	14	335	25.8	147.6

A similar theme can be spotted if we compare the pair’s IPL numbers since the last season. Although Gill has scored more runs than Jaiswal, and even has a better average on this occasion, the left-handed batter boasts a better strike rate. 

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Yashasvi Jaiswal	23	847	43.7	161
Shubman Gill	27	1210	50.4	153

With India’s focus being on adapting to a more aggressive approach in powerplay overs, especially considering how the likes of Australia’s Travis Head and England’s Phil Salt are going on about at the IPL, Jaiswal could edge past Gill.

Q2 – Who Will Be India’s Wicketkeepers?

India squad for T20 World Cup 2024: There are four candidates for two wicketkeeping slots.

(Photo: BCCI/Altered by The Quint)

For this position, wherein there will be a couple of vacancies, the selectors will have three realistic candidates – Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Dinesh Karthik, despite his age, might be added to the mix owing to his IPL 2024 exploits, but Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel, who were initially a part of what was then a six-horse race, find themselves lagging behind. Jitesh has had a difficult time with the bat for Punjab Kings, while Jurel has not had many opportunities with the bat in a formidable Rajasthan Royals batting unit.

The candidates:

• Sanju Samson

• KL Rahul

• Rishabh Pant

• Dinesh Karthik

With the quartet of Rohit, Yashasvi, Kohli and Yadav likely to occupy the top four positions in India’s batting order, whoever plays as the wicketkeeper is likely to be assigned a role at number five or lower. 

Among the four candidates, Rahul has never batted in these positions for India, whilst only six of Samson’s 25 T20I appearances saw him batting at five or lower. Dinesh Karthik is India’s most experienced player in this regard, albeit, Rishabh Pant has also played 18 innings as a finisher.

Player	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Sanju Samson	6	81	20.2	106.6
KL Rahul	NA	NA	NA	NA
Rishabh Pant	18	325	25	124.5
Dinesh Karthik	39	553	32.5	143.3

When it comes to IPL 2024 performances, Rishabh Pant has scored the most runs, 398, whilst also having a strike rate of 158.6. His recent exploits, coupled with his previous experience in the middle-order in T20Is, make him a frontrunner in this race.

Player	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	Wickets	Economy Rate
Shivam Dube	171	171	152.7	3	9.6
Axar Patel	190	27.1	157	14	6.76

On the contrary, KL Rahul’s inexperience in the middle-order, alongside his IPL 2024 strike rate of 144.3 – the lowest among the four candidates – could eliminate him from the race, despite scoring 378 runs. Among the other two – Samson and Karthik – the former might have had a better strike rate, but Samson has scored 123 runs more, and though he bats at number three for Rajasthan Royals, he has a strike rate of 161.1. These factors could see him getting the second keeping spot.

Q3 – Who Will Be India’s All-Rounders?

India squad for T20 World Cup 2024: Both Shivam Dube and Axar Patel could be selected, depending on squad composition.

(Photo: BCCI/Altered by The Quint)

As mentioned above, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja’s positions look all but certain. The subsequent question is – Who will be India’s other all-round options?

But even before that, the preliminary question should be – How many all-rounders will India select?

Five of the fifteen places are likely to be occupied by specialist batters, with Rinku Singh expected to join the aforementioned quartet. Adding three pacers, one specialist spinner, two all-rounders and two wicketkeepers to the mix leaves the selectors with two options. 

They can either pick two more all-rounders to fill the squad, or could opt for an additional specialist pacer or spinner if they select only three all-rounders.

Now, let us talk about the candidates.

The candidates:

• Shivam Dube

• Axar Patel

Should we compare T20I numbers since the 2022 T20 World Cup exit, Axar Patel might emerge as the clear favourite. He has not only scalped more wickets than Dube and has a much better economy rate, but has even scored more runs, although having played more matches.

Player	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	Wickets	Economy Rate
Shivam Dube	171	171	152.7	3	9.6
Axar Patel	190	27.1	157	14	6.76

However, IPL 2024 numbers hands Dube a significant boost. He has scored 350 runs for Chennai Super Kings this season, and that too, at a staggering strike rate of 172.4. Further amplifying his appeal is his ability to take the spinners to the cleaners – a trait India would want to have in their batting contingent. Having said that, however, it also should be pointed out that Dube has not rolled his arm over owing to the impact substitute rule. 

Player	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	Wickets	Economy Rate
Shivam Dube	350	58.3	172.4	NA	NA
Axar Patel	149	24.8	124.2	9	7.24

This could offer Axar the advantage, should the selectors pick only one all-rounder from the pair and opt for the one who can aid the bowling unit.

Q4 – Who Will Be India’s Pacers?

India squad for T20 World Cup 2024: Five players are vying to be Jasprit Bumrah's pace partner.

(Photo: BCCI/Altered by The Quint)

With Jasprit Bumrah a certainty, and Mohammed Shami still recuperating after his knee surgery, there are seemingly five candidates for the two or three vacant positions.

The candidates:

• Mohammed Siraj

• Arshdeep Singh

• Mukesh Kumar

• T Natarajan

• Sandeep Sharma

Among the quintet, Arshdeep and Mukesh have played the most T20Is for India since the 2022 T20 World Cup, albeit the latter has not been nearly as impressive with the white ball as he has been with the red. Arshdeep, however, has fairly decent numbers, although his economy rate is on the higher side. 

Player	Overs	Wickets	Average	Economy Rate
Mohammed Siraj	14	7	11.6	5.79
Arshdeep Singh	83.4	33	23.1	9.11
Mukesh Kumar	43.5	12	34.3	9.4
T Natarajan	NA	NA	NA	NA
Sandeep Sharma	NA	NA	NA	NA

Siraj, among India’s better performers at the ODI World Cup last year, has not played much T20I cricket over the last year and a half, whilst Sharma and Natarajan are left-field choices, having entered the race only owing to their IPL performances.

Arshdeep is the only bowler among the five who has both satisfactory IPL numbers and recent T20I experience, making him a prime contender to partner Bumrah. Mukesh Kumar’s poor IPL 2024 economy rate, coupled with his underwh

Player	Overs	Wickets	Average	Economy Rate
Mohammed Siraj	34	6	53.8	9.5
Arshdeep Singh	31.2	12	25.2	9.64
Mukesh Kumar	25.3	13	21.7	11.06
T Natarajan	28	13	19.4	9
Sandeep Sharma	15	8	13.4	7.13

This leaves the selectors with three options in Siraj, Natarajan and Sharma. From the trio, Sharma has been the outright better performer in IPL 2024, boasting an economy rate of 7.13 and an average of 13.4. Siraj, however, could get the recency advantage, considering Sharma’s last international appearance was nine years ago.

Q5 – Who Will Be India’s Spinners?

India squad for T20 World Cup 2024: There are three candidates for either one or two vacancies for a specialist spinner.

(Photo: BCCI/Altered by The Quint)

Should the selectors opt for a spin-bowling all-rounder in Axar Patel, there will be provision for only one specialist spinner. Alternatively, there will be a maximum of two specialist spinners in the team, with three candidates in contention.

The candidates:

• Kuldeep Yadav

• Ravi Bishnoi

• Yuzvendra Chahal 

Kuldeep Yadav’s selection seems to be a foregone conclusion owing to a couple of factors – he has the best average and economy rate among the trio since the 2022 T20 World Cup, whilst he also had a decent ODI World Cup campaign last year.

Player	Overs	Wickets	Average	Economy Rate
Kuldeep Yadav	33.5	15	14.3	6.35
Ravi Bishnoi	55	20	21.4	7.8
Yuzvendra Chahal	36	11	28.5	8.72

Should there be two vacancies, however, Chahal could be ahead of Bishnoi in the race.

Player	Overs	Wickets	Average	Economy Rate
Kuldeep Yadav	31	12	21.8	8.45
Ravi Bishnoi	25.4	5	45	8.77
Yuzvendra Chahal	34	13	23.5	9

Although the youngster has had better returns for India in recent times, and was the number one ranked T20I bowler only a few months ago, the veteran has had a much better IPL 2024 campaign.