T20 World Cup 2024: File photo of Hardik Pandya with Virat Kohli© AFP
Ahead of the much-awaited selection of the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, there were discussions about star all-rounder Hardik Pandya's place in the squad of 15 based on his current form in the Indian Premier League (IPL). This is evident from sources from the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI). Hardik is currently captaining MI in IPL 2024. The team is at the bottom half of the table, with three wins and six losses at the ninth spot. Pandya hasn't been in the best of form either, scoring just 197 runs in nine matches at an average of 24.62 and a strike rate of over 151. His best score is 46. He has just bowled 19 overs in the tournament, with he took four wickets at an average of 56.75 and an economy rate of 11.94.
Also, the sources said that this tournament could likely be the last international level outing for veterans skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20I format.
Both Rohit and Virat returned to the T20I lineup against Afghanistan in January this year. Before that, their previous outing was the 10-wicket loss to England in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. After this crushing loss, Team India tried to field youngsters like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal etc at the top of the rankings in the shorter format.
They are two of India's most accomplished T20I batters. Virat is the highest run-getter in T20I cricket. In 117 matches he scored 4,037 runs at an average of 51.75 and a strike rate of over 138, with a century and 37 fifties in 109 innings. His best score is 122*.
Rohit is the second highest run-scorer in the format, scoring 3,974 runs at an average of over 31 and a strike rate of almost 140. His best score is 121*. He has five centuries and 29 fifties in the format.
With both players in the team, some young and promising stars could find themselves in the reserves instead of playing as an eleven.
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