T20 WC 2024: Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul kicked out from India's World Cup squad selected by Harbhajan Singh

Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh has unveiled his 15-member India squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to be played in the West Indies and the USA. Harbhajan Singh left out players like Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Axar Patel from his squad for the marquee event.

The ICC has set a deadline of May 1 for teams to announce their provisional squads for the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee faces the challenge of picking a balanced 15-man squad based on players' performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.

Harbhajan Singh Names Rohit Sharma As Skipper

Harbhajan Singh chose Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the opening pair, with Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav at numbers three and four in the lineup. The veteran off-spinner named Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson as designated wicketkeepers for the Men in Blue in the tournament.

The Punjab-born cricketer selected Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube as the finishers for the upcoming tournament. Notably, the former Indian cricketer excluded Hardik Pandya from the squad. Apart from Dube's part-time bowling, no other batter in the lineup is expected to contribute with the ball.

Hardik Pandya has been absent from the Indian national cricket team since the 2023 ODI World Cup. He made his comeback in the ongoing season. However, the all-rounder struggled to make an impact for the Mumbai Indians (MI). He has scored 151 runs in eight matches and taken only four wickets.

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Harbhajan Singh Picks Mayank Yadav And Avesh Khan

The former CSK cricketer's squad comprises seven bowlers, including all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal form the spin duo alongside Jadeja, while Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, and Mayank Yadav constitute the pace attack.

Mayank Yadav. started IPL 2024 impressively with two consecutive Player of the Match awards. However, he has been sidelined due to injury since his third game for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Yuzvendra Chahal has secured 13 wickets in eight matches for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) this season.

Harbhajan Singh’s India 15 For T20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav.

Sanju Samson Should Be Groomed As The Next T20 Captain - Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh believes that Sanju Samson should be included in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup and groomed as the future T20 captain after Rohit Sharma. He highlighted that there should be no debate regarding Samson's role as a wicketkeeper-batter.

"Yashasvi Jaiswal’s knock is a proof of class is permanent . Form is temporary @ybj_19 and there shouldn’t be any debate about Keepar batsman . @IamSanjuSamson should walks in to the Indian team for T20 worldcup and also groomed as a next T20 captain for india after rohit . koi shak ???" Harbhajan wrote.

Also read: T20 WC 2024: Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, and Mayank Yadav to be ignored by selectors for World Cup