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Sanju Samson along with Rajasthan Royals team-mates Yuzvendra Chahal and Yashasvi Jaiswal were named in India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, to be played in the USA and the West Indies next month.
Following his superb run with the bat -- 385 runs in nine games at a strike rate of 161 -- for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024, Samson was picked as the wicketkeeper along with Rishabh Pant, who makes a comeback to the Indian team after a long injury lay-off following a serious car crash in December 2022 which saw him miss last year's IPL and the ODI World Cup.
Pant, who last played for India in a Test match in South Africa in December 2022, made a sensational comeback in the ongoing IPL. The Delhi Capitals, not only impressed with the gloves, but also stroked his way to 398 runs in 11 games at a strike rate of 158 to force his way back.
K L Rahul failed to make it to the 15-member squad despite a strong showing with the bat for Lucknow Super Giants.
In a surprising move, KKR's batting sensation Rinku Singh was not picked in the 15-member squad and only made it to the reserves with Gujarat Titans' run machine Shubman Gill also meeting the same fate along with the pace duo of Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was preferred ahead of Gill in a strong batting line-up comprising captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.
Shivam Dube made it to the World Cup squad on the back of his smashing performances for CSK in IPL 2024. He has been quite lethal against the spinners in the middle overs, slamming 350 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 172, including 26 sixes.
Interestingly, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who replaced Rohit as the Mumbai Indians captain, has been named as his deputy for the World Cup.
Veteran leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal also made it back to the Indian team, having last played in a T20 International in August last year. Royals' spin ace Chahal has been in great form in IPL 2024, picking up 13 wickets in nine games -- the best by any spinner in this tournament so far.
He will be part of a strong four-member spin department for India including Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.
India have named only three specialist pace bowlers in Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, with Pandya expected to shoulder the bowling responsibility during the T20 World Cup.
India will begin their World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue. India will then play USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (w/k), Sanju Samson (w/k), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan