 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Chairman of the national selection committee Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma are expected to have an informal meeting in New Delhi to discuss India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup.
The formal announcement might happen in Mumbai on May 1, the cut-off date to announce the squad for the ICC event.
It is understood that Agarkar specially flew into Delhi for Saturday's IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals as he would also get a chance to chat up with skipper Rohit and get a further clarity before he sits with his colleagues to pick the final team.
There are a couple of slots which will be up for discussion as most of the team picks itself. There won't be many surprises and only thing that selection committee and team management needs to be convinced about is Hardik Pandya's bowling fitness.
If Hardik is slotted in the 15, then only one among Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh can be accommodated while there could be competition for the second wicketkeeper's slot between K L Rahul,and Sanju Samson, both of whom are among the runs in IPL 2024.
There is very little possibility of a left-field selection and one option could be Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma, who is a flamboyant southpaw and can also bowl handy off-spin in case opposition has more left-handers.
However, it can't be ascertained how much is the possibility of that happening as Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi are fighting for the third spinner's slot.
Yuzvendra Chahal, who has been doing well in IPL 2024, is reportedly not a priority choice for an influential member of the coaching staff, who has a lot of say in selection matters.