T20 World Cup 2024: Shikhar Dhawan snubs Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, picks 3 key players for India's World Cup success

The veteran India National Cricket Team left-handed batsman Shikhar Dhawan has picked three star players who can lead the Indian team to glory in the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 is set to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America from June 1 to June 29. It will be the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and it will also be the first-ever instance of 20 teams featuring in the competition.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already announced the strong 15-man squad along with the reserves for the marquee tournament. India will once again be entering the World Cup as one of the hot favorites to win the title. The seniors like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja would be looking forward to ending India's ICC trophy drought and finishing their T20I careers on high.

Ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, the Indian cricketers have got the opportunity to play in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024 which will serve as the perfect preparation for the marquee tournament.

Currently, Virat Kohli holds the No.1 spot in the Indian Premier League 2024 Orange Cap charts as he has been stellar with his performances throughout the league. He has scored 708 runs in 14 league stage matches with the best score of 113* and an average of 64.36. Kohli had made his runs at a good strike rate of 155.60 and has slammed 37 sixes as well.

On the bowling side of things, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh have been the biggest positives from Team India's point of view as they have picked up 20 and 19 wickets respectively, and are in the second and third position in the Purple Cap race.

Of course, there is lots of pressure playing for India in World Cups and Rohit is an experienced guy - Shikhar Dhawan

Speaking to the Times of India, Dhawan shared his views on India's World Cup squad. He said that the Indian players would be under tremendous pressure heading into the competition but was confident that the team would come out with flying colors.

"Of course, there is lots of pressure playing for India in World Cups and Rohit is an experienced guy. I am sure his experience will come in handy, he knows how to soak the pressure and definitely, India will come out with flying colours," Dhawan said

Shikhar Dhawan further named three key players who will have to step in to help India succeed in the competition and he surprisingly didn't take the names of No.1 ranked T20I batsman Suryakumar Yadav and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya. According to Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah are important for India's success.

"Apart from Rohit, I feel Virat (Kohli) and Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) will be crucial for Team India’s success in the T20 World Cup. Virat is the chase master and his mere presence in the field demoralises the opposition. Jasprit is the world’s best bowler at the moment in all 3 formats and if India are to win the World Cup, he will play a vital role in it," Shikhar Dhawan stated.

Talking about India captain Rohit Sharma, he didn't have a great showing in the Indian Premier League 2024 but he was quite decent with the bat. In 14 matches, the former MI skipper smashed 417 runs at an average of 32.07 and an economy of 150.