Rajasthan Royals’ star players Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahaland Yashasvi Jaiswal, have been named in the Indian cricket team for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, which will be hosted in the West Indies and USA.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 15-member squad on Tuesday. Royals pacer Avesh Khan is among the four reserve players.
Rohit Sharma has been named captain of the Indian cricket team while all-rounder Hardik Pandya is the vice-captain.
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson is one of the two wicket-keepers in the squad along with Rishabh Pant. Chahal, meanwhile, is one of the four spinners in the team alongside Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
Sanju Samson has had an incredible season in the ongoing Indian Premier League. He is the Royals’ leading run-scorer of the tournament and sixth-highest in IPL 2024. His 385 runs have come at an astonishing average of 77.00 and an impressive strike rate of 161.08.
Rajasthan Royals, under Samson’s leadership, are currently leading the IPL 2024 standings after nine matches and are in pole position for qualifying for the playoffs.
With the T20 World Cup call-up, the 29-year-old Samson made into a squad for an ICC event for the very first time.
The 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, meanwhile, had a challenging start to the IPL campaign but the southpaw bounced back with a match-winning century against the Mumbai Indians last week.
Chahal, 33, hasn't played T20 for India since August last year. He was left out from the last four bilateral T20 series, including the recent series against South Africa and Afghanistan. However, he was picked for the T20 World Cup on the back of his form in the IPL
Chahal has picked 13 wickets in the IPL so far, and became the first bowler to reach a landmark of 200 wickets in the tournament’s history. He is just one wicket short of the leading wicket-taker of IPL 2024, jointly led by three bowlers at the moment.
India will begin their T20 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.
India T20 World Cup 2024 squad
Indian cricket team: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan
