The T20 World Cup starts on June 1 in the Caribbean and the USA. India play their first game on June 5 against Ireland before the marquee clash against Pakistan on June 9.

India’s squad for T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav
Reserves: Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Shubman Gill

Following the squad announcement yesterday (April 30), there has naturally been a lot of varied reaction from fans and experts, with the most surprising call being the omission of Rinku Singh. While the rest of the squad bears more or less an expected look, there’s still room for enough experimentation in terms of how they go about constructing an XI.

Here’s how the starting XI for India might look like at the T20 World Cup.

Top order

The squad technically has only two designated openers in the form of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. But Virat Kohli has been a regular opener in the IPL and is also in contention to take that role at the World Cup. However, the chances of that happening are low as India would most likely prefer to stick to Rohit and Jaiswal, the incumbents, as openers, and Kohli at three to carry the innings through like he has always done for India.

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli – Most runs by an India batter in the men's T20 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma – Second-most runs by an India batter in the men's T20 World Cup.#RohitSharma #ViratKohli #India #Cricket #T20worldCup pic.twitter.com/HkIOf4umVA

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) May 1, 2024

Middle order

India have a lot of options to choose from for the middle order. Between No.4 to No.7, one of the slots will be filled by a wicketkeeper, one by Suryakumar Yadav, and two by all-rounders. Hardik Pandya, who is the designated vice-captain, will be one of the two all-rounders, while India will have the option of choosing between Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel for the second all-rounder’s spot.

Both Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson have been having a good IPL season, but Pant is the one who is a regular in the middle order whereas Samson’s favoured spot is No.3. Along with that, Pant has the added advantage of being a left-hander, which is expected to give him the edge over Samson for the wicket-keeper’s slot.

Dube has stormed his way into the squad on the basis of his consistent six-hitting for CSK in the last couple of IPL seasons. He also provides the luxury of a few overs of seam bowling. India will be tempted to fit him in the XI, perhaps as a finisher at No.6 or 7, but Jadeja might edge him out as the preferred choice given his experience, both in general and in that role. The management might also consider the possibility of playing both Jadeja and Axar at seven and eight if they feel the need for extra batting depth, although that seems like an unlikely combination, at least to start off with.

Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja

Bowlers

Yuzvendra Chahal has returned to the T20I set-up, marking a reunion of the famous Kul-Cha pairing of Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal. At the last T20 World Cup, India were defensive with their bowling attack, picking R Ashwin in the XI ahead of Chahal. They might go the opposite way this time around, picking both Kuldeep and Chahal in the XI. Although it will hamper their batting depth with Kuldeep having to bat eight, India will bank on the wicket-taking value they bring to nullify the batting disadvantage that will occur because of their inclusion. If conditions dictate picking one of the two spinners, Kuldeep currently sits above Chahal in the pecking order and will be the first name in the team sheet.

As for the fast bowlers, Arshdeep Singh is most likely to pair Jasprit Bumrah to make up the seam attack along with Pandya. Mohammed Siraj is the only other seamer in the squad, but Arshdeep has been the mainstay for a long time and also provides the left-arm variety, which India wouldn’t want to miss out on unless he is woefully out of form.

Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

India’s predicted starting XI at the T20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.