The selection committee is likely to meet on April 27 or 28 in Delhi to pick the Indian team for the T20 World Cup. The deadline for sending a 15-member team for the World Cup in the West Indies and the United States is May 1.
According to sources, the match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians will be played on April 27 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. India’s stand-in captain Rohit Sharma was also present on the occasion. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar, who is holidaying in Spain, will also reach Delhi directly, where the rest of the selectors will also stay. After the match in Delhi, Mumbai Indians are scheduled to play LSG in Lucknow on April 30. Therefore, the time is most appropriate for the meeting during the match in Delhi as the team list is to be handed over to the ICC on May 1. However, it is likely that the selection committee for the T20 World Cup will give preference to players who have played for the team in this format. If the overall situation is seen, then along with captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav are certain to be selected. These 10 players will definitely fly to the US if they are fit.
Hardik Pandya’s selection in the team will largely depend on his performance in the IPL. Hardik hasn’t impressed with the ball yet and hasn’t scored too many runs with the bat either. At the same time, when it comes to choosing between Shubman and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Gill has scored more runs than them, but as far as Jaiswal is concerned, the selection committee can not ignore him considering some of his low scores in the IPL. If the selectors give an opportunity to these two, then one of Shivam Dube or Rinku Singh can be dropped. Sanju Samson is the wicketkeeper-batsman along with Pant. However, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan can’t be ignored considering their performances at the moment.
Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi are in contention for the additional spinner’s slot. While Axar is a left-arm spinner, he is also a useful batsman. Chahal has not played a single T20 World Cup in his nine-year career so far but he is far ahead of the other two in bowling skills but his repeated exclusion from the important team raises a big question mark over his selection in the tournament to be held in June.
