Virender Sehwag snubs Hardik Pandya in Team India's 2024 T20 World Cup playing XI; includes Sandeep Sharma in the pace attack
Former opening batter Virender Sehwag did not include Hardik Pandya in his predicted Team India's playing XI for the 2024 T20 World Cup. The all-rounder last donned the national colors during the 2023 ODI World Cup and made his comeback during the ongoing 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Pandya's return has not gone according to plan. He controversially returned to Mumbai Indians (MI), taking over from Rohit Sharma as captain. He has scored 151 runs in eight matches at an average of 21.57 and has taken only four wickets so far.
His sluggish IPL season has led to several questioning Hardik Pandya's place in India's playing XI for the World Cup, and wondering what he will offer in this kind of form.
Virender Sehwag was asked to name his preferred playing XI for Team India at the 2024 T20 World Cup by former England player Michael Vaughan on the Club Praire podcast, while former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist was also part of the panel.
"Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube/Rinku Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Sandeep Sharma," Sehwag said.
Sehwag clarified that Pandya should be there in the Indian squad for the tournament, but not the final playing XI. With no Hardik Pandya present, Sehwag's playing XI lacks a potential sixth bowling option.
He also chose not to consider the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar, who have been playing T20I cricket regularly since the last T20 World Cup. Instead, he opted for veteran pacer Sandeep Sharma, who has been brilliant for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing IPL, although having missed four matches due to a side strain.
Team India's T20 World Cup squad expected to be announced by the end of April
ICC has set a deadline of May 1 for the teams to announce their provisional squads for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
According to reports, the selection committee is expected to convene in New Delhi on either April 28 or 29. Skipper Rohit Sharma, who will be present in the capital city for the Mumbai Indians' (MI) scheduled contest against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 27, is also expected to attend the meeting to finalize the squad.