The deadline for India to announce its squad of 15 for the T20 World Cup is May 1, but if one is to knuckle down on the names that pick for themselves, only few players tick that list. Rohit Sharma is one, because… well, he is the captain. Virat Kohli is another. Beyond the two star batters, Mr. T20 Suryakumar Yadav is an automatic pick and among bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah makes it to the Playing XI, let alone the squad.
Outside of these 4 proven performers, if given the option to pick one more, the emerging Rinku Singh would make the cut. Ever since he smacked Yash Dayal for five sixes at last year's IPL, Rinku's stocks have only gone up. He has proven himself for India in T20Is as well finishing off many matches and holds a record of 357 runs from 15 matches at an average of 89. Clearly, he should be on that flight to the USA and West Indies, right?
Wrong. At least, not as per former India speedster S Sreesanth, who has left the burgeoning talent of Rinku out of his squad of 15. And hang on. Rinku's omission isn't the only talking point of Sreesanth's picks. In another surprising move, Sreesanth has not only selected the returning Rishabh Pant as his first-choice wicketkeeper, he has chosen the Delhi Capitals captain to be the vice-captain of the team, stripping the title off KL Rahul, who by the way, doesn't feature in Sreesanth's list.
Rahul was India's last proper vice-captain in T20Is, serving as Rohit's deputy at the last T20 World Cup two years ago in Australia, where India crashed out following a loss to England in the semi-final. Ever since, there hasn't been much clarity as to who exactly was India's vice-captain. With Hardik Pandya becoming the makeshift captain of the Indian team with Rohit breaking away from the format to focus on the ODI World Cup, several candidates were tried, including Suryakumar. But with SKY and even Bumrah taking up India's T20I captaincy across different series, there was an evident lack of clarity over the vice-captaincy role.
Sreesanth has faith in Hardik Pandya
{{/usCountry}}Rahul was India's last proper vice-captain in T20Is, serving as Rohit's deputy at the last T20 World Cup two years ago in Australia, where India crashed out following a loss to England in the semi-final. Ever since, there hasn't been much clarity as to who exactly was India's vice-captain. With Hardik Pandya becoming the makeshift captain of the Indian team with Rohit breaking away from the format to focus on the ODI World Cup, several candidates were tried, including Suryakumar. But with SKY and even Bumrah taking up India's T20I captaincy across different series, there was an evident lack of clarity over the vice-captaincy role.
Sreesanth has faith in Hardik Pandya
{{/usCountry}}Moving on, unlike many of his peers, Sreesanth has actually included Hardik in his squad of 15. Many former India cricketers, including Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu didn't feel that the Mumbai Indians warranted a place in the squad – Virender Sehwag left him out of his India Playing XI at the World Cup – but Sreesanth has reserved a place for Hardik, along with the explosive Shivam Dube. The CSK all-rounder has shot himself up in the pecking order after playing many a memorable knock in the ongoing IPL and by notching up over 300 runs from 8 matches, three fifties included.
Kuldeep Yadav is Sreesanth's leading spinner, along with Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravindra Jadeja for assistance. Chahal hasn't played for India since his appearance against West Indies last year and is yet to play a World Cup since 2019, but Sreesanth has shown faith in the reunion of Kul-Cha to get the job done in USA and the West Indies. In another takeaway, Sanju Samson is Sreesanth's back-up wicketkeeper, thus showing the door to Dinesh Karthik, who for the second time has dished out incredible form for RCB in a T20 World Cup year.
Among pacers, a department where India's stock appears thin, partnering Bumrah in Sreesanth's 15 are Mohammed Siraj – despite underwhelming form for RCB – and Arshdeep Singh. The left-arm quick had become an integral part of India's T20I squad two years ago, and while he did nothing wrong, Siraj's string of impressive performances leapfrogged him into the fray. Additionally, Sreesanth finds room to push in one more pacer in the form of Mayank Yadav. The young Indian tearaway pacer, who impressed with his pace and accuracy, has bowled the two fastest deliveries of this year's IPL.