Jamaica's Olympic champion tags BCCI to make unexpected T20 World Cup squad selection appeal for Dinesh Karthik
Yohan Blake, an avid cricket fan, spoke about India's talent pool as the date nears for the squad selection for T20 World Cup 2024.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is gearing up to unveil the T20 squad for the upcoming World Cup by the end of this month, sparking widespread speculations and discussions both within India and internationally. The anticipation surrounding the squad announcement has transcended even sporting fields, with even Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake, a passionate cricket fan, expressing his admiration for the Indian cricket team on social media.
Blake, who has remained active on his X, formerly Twitter, profile during multiple Indian Premier League (IPL) matches this season, suggested that India could feasibly field three competitive teams for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, highlighting the depth and talent within Indian cricket. He emphasized the daunting task of selecting a squad from such a wealth of talented players; there is, indeed, significant competition for many places in the Indian squad for the upcoming World Cup.
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“Currently, it is incredibly challenging to select the Indian T20 World Cup team due to the immense talent pool available. There are so many talented Indian players that it seems like they could potentially send three teams to the World Cup. @IPL @BCCI @ICC,” Blake wrote.
For the opening spot alone, there are multiple players competing for a single spot with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and even Virat Kohli's name being paired alongside captain Rohit Sharma.
Competition for wicketkeeper role
This year's IPL remains pivotal to the selection of the T20 World Cup squad; in the season alone, there have been a number of new names emerging for contention in the marquee tournament. One of them is Dinesh Karthik, whose aggressive performances in the lower-middle order for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have also garnered the attention from the Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
Karthik was part of the Indian squad in the 2022 T20 World Cup but has since remained away from the side. In addition to Karthik, Rishabh Pant also emerged as one of the frontrunners, following a strong comeback to competitive cricket in the season. Sanju Samson has also produced impressive performances, adding to the selectors' headache.
Blake, in another post, suggested that Karthik has to be in the Indian T20 World Cup squad. “In my humble opinion, my cricket family, I strongly believe that Dinesh Karthik should indeed be picked for the team,” wrote the Jamaican runner.
