Let’s take a look at the players who will be looking forward to IPL 2024 to cement their place in the T20 World Cup squad
The countdown for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 has started. Next year’s IPL gains special significance because of the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Indian players who are eyeing a spot in the squad for T20 World Cup can do their bidding with some packed performances in the IPL. Let’s take a look at the players who will be looking forward to IPL 2024 to cement their place in the T20 World Cup squad.
Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson has been in & out of the Indian squad in the last few years. Ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup, Sanju Samson got a call up for the T20I series against Ireland. Now with the T20 World Cup approaching, Sanju has been named in the IND vs SA ODI squad. Sanju would need to back himself with some big performances in the upcoming IPL to force the selectors to think about him for the T20 WC.
He has been poor with bat in T20Is, scoring a single half-century in the 24 T20Is he has featured in. He has scored 374 runs at an average of just below 20. His T20 batting performance in national colours is nowhere near what the selectors are looking for and that is something Sanju Samson will be looking to change in IPL 2024.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Although Yuzvendra Chahal has been an important bowler for India, he has lost out his place in the Indian T20 team recently. Since playing against the West Indies in August, Chahal has not featured for India’s T20 side. The likes of Ravi Bishnoi has taken over the specialist leg-spinner’s role in T20Is, leading Chahal to be sidelined. Chahal, who has taken 96 wickets in 80 T20Is for India, can help himself with consistent performances in the IPL 2024.
If he manages to go anywhere near the Purple Cap in this season’s IPL, he will definitely be a name that the selectors will ponder on while choosing the squad for the T20 World Cup.
Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar is another cricketer capable of walking in to the T20 World Cup squad. The off-spinner has done enough in the recent times to be picked in India’s T20 squads. However, that selection has not converted into starts as Sundar sat out of the five T20 matches in the recently concluded IND vs AUS T20I series. The off-spinner was kept out of the starting XI by the likes of Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel who formed a formidable bond against the mighty Aussies.
Sundar was named in the T20 and ODI squads of IND vs SA and he will be eager to make a mark in that series. However he will have to fight the likes of Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav for a place in the T20 XI. Even if he fails to get a chance, he will have the IPL 2024 to prove his worth and force his name into the selectors’ psyche.
Jitesh Sharma
Jitesh Sharma is on a roll at the moment. The wicketkeeper-batter had a good IND vs AUS T20I series, scoring some crucial runs at a brisk pace. However, he will face a tough competition for a place in the T20 World Cup squad. India’s selectors will have a tough task at hand of choosing two wicketkeepers for the WC from a host of options. KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan will all be eyeing for that wicketkeeper’s spot.
A bad IPL campaign can spell doom for Jitesh Sharma with so many contenders for that spot behind the wicket. There’s another competitor that can make Jitesh Sharma’s job tougher: Rishabh Pant. The circumstances demand a mammoth performance from Jitesh in IPL 2024, it remains to be seen if he can shoulder on that responsibility.
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Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh has leaked a lot of runs in the IND vs AUS T20I series. The left-arm quick had a bad economy rate of over 10 runs without taking a lot of wickets. However, the final over in the 5th T20I where he defended 9 runs will do a world of good for his confidence. Arshdeep will have to drastically improve on his economy rate to get a seat in India’s T20 World Cup squad, and IPL 2024 might just be that platform for Arshdeep to take off.
The left-arm pacer has 58 wickets in 40 T20Is he has played. Although his economy rate of 8.63 might be a worry for selectors. Arshdeep was selected for both ODI and T20I teams touring South Africa, and he will hope to lay his claim on a World Cup spot from the South Africa series itself before IPL 2024 provides him another chance to prove his mettle.
