World Cup 2024: Virat, Rohit to be sacked, IPL stars to play key role: Reports: Team India’s hopes of lifting the coveted ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 were shattered by the mighty Aussies, a couple of days ago, and now the focus will shift to the bilateral series and building up the squads for the upcoming ICC events. The Men in Blue will now eye two upcoming World Cup events – one in 2023, and the other next year.
With ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 to be held in October-November, the squad-building process for the ODI will begin shortly. The senior pros of the Indian team will play a vital role in the ODI squads, however, the BCCI seems to have made up its mind to phase out the senior players from the shortest format for India.
The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and others are likely to be overlooked for the upcoming T20I series as the BCCI intends to test and prepare the IPL stars for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
As per a few reports, BCCI is keen on testing wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma and Rinku Singh in the T20Is following their outstanding show in the recently completed Tata IPL 2023. While Jitesh Sharma played a key role in Punjab Kings’ middle order with his brilliant strokeplay, Rinku Singh received applause for his magnificent temperament and ability to finish games.
Rinku Singh, playing for KKR, scored 474 runs at a strike rate of 149.52 in the Tata IPL 2023. On the other side, Jitesh Sharma mustered 309 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate 156.06 for PBKS.
The other probable IPL stars who are expected to be named in India’s T20I squad, which will be led by Hardik Pandya, are CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rajasthan Royals’ left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Gaikwad remained second highest run scorer for his side with 590 runs at an average of 42.14. He played a number of memorable innings and more often than not took CSK to a flying start. Jaiswal, meanwhile, has shown potential to be highly aggressive. He amassed 625 runs in the league stage of the IPL 2023 at an impressive strike rate of 163.61.
Besides the aforementioned names, BCCI is also likely to groom the likes of Umran Malik, Tushar Deshpande, Tilak Varma and Aakash Madhwal among others for the upcoming ICC events.
The pace duo of Mohammad Shami and Siraj will be rested for the upcoming T20I series against West Indies considering their workload. India is set to play five-match T20I series in the tour of the West Indies and the USA, which begins on July 12.
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For more details head to BCCI’s official website.