T20 World Cup 2024: Harbhajan Singh reveals his ideal India squad, snubs Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill and picks 2 wicket-keepers

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is currently underway, and the T20 World Cup is just around the corner, scheduled to begin in June in the USA and the West Indies. India have not won a major ICC World Cup tournament since 2013 and were eliminated from the semifinal of the T20 World Cup in 2022. Now, there is a lot of expectation that India will end this drought and emerge victorious this time.  

The Indian squad for the T20 World Cup is expected to be announced soon. The deadline for squad submission is May 1. According to reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selector will meet with Indian head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma to finalise the T20 World Cup squad later this week. Ahead of the official announcement former India players have started to put forward their predicted squad for the World Cup.

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Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was a key member of India’s 2007 World Cup-winning team, announced his preferred squad. He picked the 15 players he thinks should be part of the squad for the T20 World Cup which seems to be based on the ongoing IPL 2024 form.

In the batting department, the 43-year-old picked up Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal to open. While Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav to bat at No. 3 and 4 respectively. 

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In his squad, a surprising omission can be seen as he excluded the explosive all-rounder Hardik Pandya. He included the likes of Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube and uncapped talent Mayank Yadav. Harbhajan also picked up Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson together as wicketkeepers. As finishers, he chose Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube.

Harbhajan Singh's India squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav.

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