T20 World Cup 2024: Shocking reason behind Rinku Singh's WC snub revealed; Hardik Pandya's place debated heavily

The much anticipated India team for the T20 World Cup 2024 was announced on Tuesday (30th April). Rohit Sharma was named as the skipper of the team, which saw some bold calls being taken for the tournament, set to be played in the USA and Caribbean in June this year. 

Despite a lot of speculations about his place in the team for the T20 World Cup 2024, all-rounder Hardik Pandya retained his place in the team. Not only that but he was named as the vice-captain of the team as well for the tournament, having performed the job in World Cup 2023. 

Hardik Pandya has been going through a torrid run of form in the Indian Premier League. The all-rounder last played for India in the World Cup 2024 and since then has been out due to injury. He made a return through IPL but it has been a forgettable outing so far for him. 

Hardik Pandya has failed to deliver goods with bat and ball in IPL. Apart from this he also has been under a lot of scanner for his poor captaincy in the league. Under his leadership, Mumbai Indians have lost 6 games and are struggling to get going in the tournament. 

While Hardik Pandya has been picked for the Indian team, Rinku Singh has been dropped from the team for the T20 World Cup 2024. The batter has hardly put a foot wrong in his International career and it was expected that he would be in the final squad. But it wasn't the case as he was named in reserves. 

The squad also saw Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube getting picked for the team. Both batters have been drafted into the team based on their terrific performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The duo has been breathing fire with the bat in the tournament and is this one of the main reasons behind their team's success. 

With Rinku Singh's place in the team and Hardik Pandya getting picked, there has been a lot of criticism that BCCI is facing. They lashed out at the governing body for not picking Rinku, who has an average of around 90 in the T20Is, over out of form all-rounder. 

However, a source close to BCCI revealed that there was a toss-up between Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube for the place in the team. He stated that KKR batter was unlucky and there was also a lot of debate over Hardik's place in the team for the T20 World Cup 2024. Speaking to PTI, he explained: 

"There was a lot of debate over Hardik's place in the squad while Samson was not debated much. Rinku was just unlucky. It was a toss-up between (Dube and Rinku with Hardik also in the squad)." 

A BCCI source also revealed that the Impact Player rule in IPL was the reason behind Rinku Singh's World Cup snub.

“No doubt, Rinku paid the price for the Impact Player Rule. He is plain and simple unlucky. Hardik might be in poor form but he is still India’s best seam bowling all-rounder and it would have been a risk dropping him considering he is the only one who has bowled,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Team India squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 

Apart from the above-mentioned players, Yuzvendra Chahal has been recalled to the team for the T20 World Cup 2024. The leg-spinner has been in the top-notch form in the Indian Premier League and is the second wicket-taker for the team in the tournament. 

BCCI has picked just three pacers in Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj. Rishabh Pant is the first-choice keeper in the team. The batting department is bolstered by Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav. 

Here's the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024: 

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj 

Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan