Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya ignored, Rishabh Pant tipped for change in role as Simon Doull picks India's T20WC squad

Simon Doull assigned an interesting role to Rishabh Pant in his likely India squad for the T20 World Cup

Sanju Samson may have managed to impress most, and it is yet to be revealed if that includes the selectors, with his thundering knock of 71* in just 33 balls in the IPL 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, but it doesn't include former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull, who has ignored the Rajasthan Royals captain from his preferred India squad for the T20 World Cup.

Simon Doull picks his India T20 World Cup squad

The biggest selection headache that the Ajit Agarkar-led team is likely to face over the weekend will be picking the two wicketkeeping positions for the World Cup. Rishabh Pant was always the first-choice option, especially after showing glimpses of his earlier self through the course of IPL 2024, where he amassed 371 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 160.71. But the dilemma is over the backup role with Samson, KL Rahul and even Dinesh Karthik emerging as options.

India squad for T20 World Cup Live updates

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Doull ignored Samson and picked Pant as his first-choice keeper and Rahul as the back-up. The interesting bit however was him assigning the No. 3 role for the Delhi Capitals captain, explaining that it was the only way that allowed him to fit both Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh in the line-up.

“I have flipped and flopped a lot about this, but I want Rishabh Pant at No. 3 because I can't see fitting the other players in without my keeper batting at No. 3. Also, I wanted a left-hander followed by two righties. I looked at the squad the other night and noticed that T20I is not his best format, but I feel he is evolving. I watched him through this tournament and his fitness is back to where he wanted to be before this tournament,” he explained.

With Dube preferred, following his stunning performance with the bat for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024, Doull snubbed Hardik Pandya from the squad. The Mumbai Indians captain has had a poor run in IPL 2024 so far, having scored 197 runs in nine matches and picked up just four wickets in the 17 overs he bowled out of the possible 36 across the season.

In naming the 15-member squad, the former cricketer revealed his preferred starting XI for India where he has Virat Kohli as the opener while Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the backup. The XI also one one all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja, although Doull expects Dube to roll his arms for a few overs. He also included Arshdeep Singh as the third seamer and Avesh Khan as the backup option.

Simon Doull's Team India T20 World Cup squad:

India XI: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

Substitutes: KL Rahul, Avesh Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Axar Patel