T20 World Cup 2024: "That's one thing India have been missing massively" - Simon Doull's bold prediction on Team India

Former New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull expressed concerns about the Indian team ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, which is set to begin on June 1. Simon Doull highlighted the absence of all-rounders in the top batting order, who can contribute with the ball, in the Indian cricket team.

The T20 World Cup will be played in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA). The India team, led by Rohit Sharma, is considered the title contender in the upcoming ICC tournament. The Men in Blue hopes to break their ICC title drought since the 2013 Champions Trophy triumph.

India reached the final of last year's ODI World Cup but was defeated by Australia. The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, announced a formidable squad for the T20 World Cup. Middle-order batter Rinku Singh was omitted from the World Cup squad despite his strong performances in T20I cricket.

That's One Thing India Have Been Missing Massively - Simon Doull

During a discussion on Cricbuzz, Simon Doull pointed out a loophole in the Indian squad, stating that none of the top six players can contribute to the ball in the upcoming T20 tournament.

"That's one thing India have been missing massively. Players in their top-five, six, who can bowl a couple of bowlers in T20 cricket," Doull told Cricbuzz.

That Then Becomes Crucial - Simon Doull

Simon Doull predicted that changes might occur in the team composition after the T20 World Cup. The cricketer-turned-commentator stated that Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad might feature at the top of the order.

"Now if you look at the side that's going down to the Caribbean and post that tournament, if you take away what we think you take away and all of a sudden you got Abhishek and Ruturaj at the top, or Jaiswal or Shubman or whoever you like. I think SKY stays in and about. But you might have a couple of guys, Shivam Dube stays, a couple guys who can bowl two or three overs in that top five. That then becomes crucial and then you can bat deeper and pick four genuine bowlers, and then you have 2-3 all-rounders who can do the job, two of whom are in your top five," Doull added.

Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are the specialist spinners in the squad, along with all-rounders Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel. The pace attack comprises Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj. Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are the designated wicketkeepers.

The T20 World Cup squad includes specialist batters Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shivam Dube. Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Avesh Khan have been named as reserves for the tournament.

India squad for T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), 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, Avesh Khan

Also read: T20 World Cup 2024: Virat Kohli to miss warm-up match against Bangladesh