Ravi Shastri, the former India head coach, has named two key players for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. However, he has ignored the likes of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
The BCCI, on May 1, had announced the 15-member India squad for the T20 World Cup. There is less than a month left for India’s first encounter in the tournament, where they will clash with Ireland in New York in a group A match on June 5.
The two players Ravi Shastri picked, who will be key for India’s success at the ICC event was left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and big-hitter Shivam Dube.
Jaiswal recently claimed success after blasting a record amount of runs at home against England earlier this year as part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship series. However, he has been a force to be reckoned with in the shortest format as well, having scored 502 runs in just 16 innings for India since his debut in mid-2023, including a century and four fifties.
He has also scored a century and a fifty for RR in IPL 2024, amassing 316 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 157.21.
“The two gentlemen you’ve got to watch out for, and both are left-handers, both playing their first World Cup. One is [Yashasvi] Jaiswal. We know a lot about him, he did extremely well against England, explosive at the top of the order, left-hander, he’s young, he’s fearless and he’ll play shots,” Shastri told ICC.
“He hits sixes for fun” – Ravi Shastri on Shivam Dube
Shastri also chose Chennai Super Kings’ Dube, who hit 26 sixes in just 11 matches during the ongoing IPL 2024 season. The left-hander won his spot in the Indian T20 World Cup team after a remarkable performance in the T20 league in 2023 and 2024, as well as two consecutive fifties for India against Afghanistan at home earlier in January.
“But there’s someone in the middle order, please watch out for [him], because he is explosive, he’s devastating and he’s a match-winner. He hits sixes for fun, and when it comes to spin bowling, he can kill you. “He’ll park a few balls out of Long Island into the small island, he’s that kind of a player. He hits it big, he hits it long, and like I said, against spin, he could kill you.
Even against the fast bowlers, he’s worked out his game, he’s understood the way to play and I think he holds the key at that number five, number six position because if you’re on the doldrums, you want someone to change it in 20-25 balls, he’s the player to go to,” Shastri added.
Dube has struck at a rate of 170.73 in this ongoing IPL season, while scoring a boundary in almost four deliveries.
Shastri added: “His strike rate, which will be close to 200 most of the time, will help India immensely in going forward, getting those 190s, 200s that are needed in big competitions, especially like the [T20] World Cup. So enjoy it, watch out for this left-hander — he’s big, he’s strapping, and he hits a long ball.”
India has been placed in Group A at the event with Ireland, Canada, USA and Pakistan.
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