6 India players who were part of the T20 World Cup 2022 squad but not in 2024 ft. KL Rahul
India's squad for T20 World Cup 2024 was announced on Tuesday, April 30. As expected, BCCI named Rohit Sharma as captain and Hardik Pandya as the squad's vice-captain.
Rinku Singh's exclusion has raised a few eyebrows, especially considering the southpaw's consistency for India in the shortest format of the game. He was named in the list of standby players alongside Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.
Most of the players in the 15-member squad played the T20 World Cup in 2022 as well. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav managed to hold on to their positions.
Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the T20 World Cup 2022 due to injuries, are back in the team. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami missed out on a place in the 2024 squad due to injury.
However, here's a list of six players who played for India in T20 World Cup 2022 but missed out on the mega event in 2024.
#1 KL Rahul was vice-captain of India in T20 World Cup 2022
Wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul was the deputy to Rohit Sharma in the mega event two years ago. He opened the batting for the team and scored 128 runs at a strike rate of close to 120.
Soon after the tournament, Rahul lost his place in the T20I squad. Despite an impressive run in IPL 2024, the selectors ignored him for the upcoming tournament in the West Indies and USA.
#2 Dinesh Karthik
Veteran wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik made a surprise entry into the Indian squad for the mega event two years ago. He could not justify his selection as he managed only 14 runs in four matches.
Karthik subsequently lost his position in the team. He has been performing well for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2024, but the selectors seem to have moved on from him.
#3 Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin played for India in T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022 despite not regularly playing T20I cricket. The senior all-rounder did not earn a recall this time though.
Ashwin still would have had an outside chance if his IPL 2024 performances were decent. He is probably having the worst season of his IPL career right now with Rajasthan Royals, managing just two wickets in nine games.
#4 Harshal Patel
Medium pacer Harshal Patel became a regular member of the Indian T20I team in 2021/22 after winning the IPL 2021 Purple Cap. While Patel continues to be a wicket-taker in IPL, his economy rate is too high.
Patel did not get a chance to play in T20 World Cup 2022 despite being in the squad.
#5 Deepak Hooda
Deepak Hooda cemented his place in the Indian T20I squad with a century against Ireland in 2022. He even made it to the team for the mega event and scored three runs in the only game that he played.
Hooda hasn't played a T20I for India in the last 14 months. It was not a surprise to see his name missing from the 2024 squad.
#6 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Senior fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has done a brilliant job in T20 cricket. He was the lead pacer of India in the 2022 edition of the mega event, but he hasn't been considered for this year's tournament.
Kumar played his last T20I for India in November 2022. There was a negligible chance of him getting a place in the squad for the upcoming event.