It’s been a couple of days since the Indian cricket team for the 2024 T20 World Cup has been announced. Quite interestingly, most players who have been named in the squad have not been performing well since their inclusion for the marquee event. And that includes India captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Hardik Pandya. On Friday, their IPL 2024 team Mumbai Indians lost to Kolkata Knight Riders to be placed on the brink of elimination. Rohit Sharma, named as an impact substitute, scored only 11 as MI failed to chase down 170.
Pandya was out for 1 and conceded 44 runs in four overs picking two wickets. For Rohit Sharma, this was the fourth consecutive low score in the IPL 2024. His scores in the last three matches have been – 6 (vs RR), 8 (vs DC) and 4 (vs LSG).
Former India and KKR player Aakash Chopra raised the issue in a video.
“Whoever has been named in the T20 World Cup squad, Yashasvi Jaiswal is the only exception, nobody is doing anything. I know Jasprit Bumrah picked three wickets vs KKR, Suryakumar Yadav also made runs (56) , okay fine. You get the drift right. Rohit is our captain, he gets out. For the fourth consecutive time, he failed. Rajasthan, Delhi, Lucknow and now Kolkata. Four consecutive innings where he has not scored runs,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Then Hardik Pandya comes to bat at No. 7, Tim David at No. 8. Why? Is it about left-right combination. If there is no left-right combination, will you stop batting or what?”
India will begin their World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 05, 2024 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan on June 09, 2024 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 (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 and Avesh Khan
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