KL Rahul out, 2 big names sent to reserves: Surprise in India’s T20 World Cup squad cricket news

The Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 is here and the 15-man squad has been surprisingly revealed. KL Rahul was the biggest name to miss out completely as the selectors opted for Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant as specialist wicketkeeper options. In recent times, Rahul was considered as an option that provides a lot of flexibility to the team as he can open the batting, play as a wicketkeeper and also make a place in the middle order. However, the selectors have picked two specialist wicketkeepers, with Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dubey potentially playing as middle-order batting options who can also act as explosive finishers if the situation demands.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill and Rinku Singh were also not included in the 15-member list. Although both the cricketers found a place in the reserve list, it means that they will be included in the team only in case of injury or change in strategy. Gill has been the top performer for the Indian cricket team across formats over the past year, while Rinku was hailed as the finisher that India wanted due to his sensational form in IPL 2023. However, the emergence of new talent and changing team dynamics led to both cricketers not finding their place in the team and the selectors opted for more elite options.

Both Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were completely ignored by the selectors as both were not awarded central contracts by the BCCI. Both the cricketers have not set the stage on fire in the ongoing IPL 2024 and their reluctance to play domestic cricket in the past has also not helped their cause.

Talking about the spin department, Kuldeep Yadav was always the preferred option, but the return of Yuzvendra Chahal meant that there was no room for young Ravi Bishnoi.

Among the fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah was the only name everyone was sure about and the inclusion of Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh closed the doors to other possibilities. T Natarajan and Sandeep Sharma were such names which were being discussed but both of them did not find a place even in the reshuffle. Avesh Khan and Khalil Ahmed were included in the 5-member reserve team.