As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-man roster for the T20 World Cup 2024, there was no place for talented stars like Rinku Singh, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi. The board, together with the team management, chose a mix of veterans and IPL performers as it named the squad for the marquee event. Seeing players like Rinku and Bishnoi miss out on a spot in the final 15, however, many fans and pundits expressed their disappointment. However, it’s not all over for players like Rinku yet.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had set May 01 deadline for the provisional squads to be released by all the boards. However, a clause in the ICC directive also suggests that boards are allowed to make changes with their teams by May 25.

In the case of injuries or other issues with certain players, the Indian team can be altered, making way for the management to pick a player from the reserves. At present, the BCCI reserve list includes players like Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed.

A similar case was witnessed at the ODI World Cup last year where Ravichandran Ashwin had replaced Axar Patel in India’s squad after the latter had picked up an injury. For Rinku to make it to the XI, however, a player like Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube or Suryakumar Yadav would need to be unavailable.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be hosted in the West Indies and USA, starting on June 1.

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 the USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.

India are placed in Group A of the tournament alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA.

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.

With ANI inputs