Team India during a training session ahead of their ICC T20 World Cup opening match against Ireland on June 5, in New York on May 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

After two months of intense competitive cricket under night lights, the Indian cricket team, sans Virat Kohli, began its preparations for the T20 World Cup with a morning training session here, keeping in mind the 10.30am starts for all its preliminary games.

Kohli took a break for personal work after RCB’s IPL ouster and in all likelihood, he will join the squad by Friday.

But it is not clear if he would be able to take part in the only warm-up game against Bangladesh on Saturday after a long flight.

Having played 90% of the matches under lights in the scorching Indian summer, the idea would be to adjust to pleasant mornings where temperatures will hover between 25 to 27 degree celsius with very less humidity.

A white kookaburra in slightly windy mornings could be a challenge and to be prepared for that, the severely jet-lagged bodies need to get used to morning conditions.

And this is why the support staff, before initiating the skills training (net sessions) on the practice pitches at a ground on the outskirts of the city, have decided to help the players acclimatise with the conditions.

With 14 players checking in, there was light jogging, routine shuttle runs, and a bit of foot volley to get into the groove.

“They have been away two and half months from us and getting to know where they stand and what needs to be done before the World Cup is the goal. The (first) goal is to spend 45 minutes in the heat to get going,” Strength and Conditioning coach Soham Desai told bcci.tv.

“We came in the day before yesterday and we just eased into our routines here, the players are just getting used to the time zone. Today we are having our first ground session,” he added.

As far as the players are concerned, there is an element of curiosity about playing cricket in New York.

The Indian teams, over the years, have played primarily in Florida at the Fort Lauderhill ground during their tours of the West Indies.

“First time we are going to play cricket in New York, it’s going be fun,” all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said.

“We have not yet played cricket, came here for a team activity today. Hopefully, it will be good. The weather is really good, so we are looking forward to it.”

Skipper Rohit Sharma’s deputy Hardik Pandya seemed excited with the “bright sunshine” and “good vibes” while Suryakumar Yadav wanted to know more about the the diaspora’s cricket interests.

“I heard cricket is growing here in the US. So we are really excited and the first day here was amazing, so very excited for the few days coming up,” Surya stated.

India, the 2007 T20 World Cup champions, will start their campaign here on June 5 against Ireland, followed by the big game against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 9.

They take on hosts USA on June 12 before the cricket caravan moves to familiar Lauderhill in Florida for the game against Canada on June 15.

India are supposed to be clubbed A1 irrespective of where they finish in the group and will then proceed to the Caribbean islands for the Super 8 phase of the tournament where they would meet Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

None of the Indian main squad players featured in the IPL finals held on May 26 in Chennai.

File picture of India captain Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya
| Photo Credit: AP

Yuzvendra Chahal and Shivam Dube were named in India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The team, announced by BCCI on Tuesday, will be led by Rohit Sharma. Hardik Pandya serves as the vice-captain.

Leggie Chahal, ignored for India’s recent T20 assignments, was picked on the strength of good returns for Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing IPL season. Chahal is the only right-arm spinner in the squad, with southpaws Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav forming the rest of the spin attack.

Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj are the specialist pacers.

Also read | ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2024: full schedule, dates and venues

Lucknow Super Giants skipper K.L. Rahul and Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Dinesh Karthik were among the notable omissions. Karthik had harboured hopes of making the bus, after finding good form as a finisher for RCB.

Shubman Gill lost out on the opener slot to Yashasvi Jaiswal. Gill and lower-order batter Rinku Singh were named in the reserves. Rinku gave way to Dube, who has shown a penchant for big hits.

The tournament marks the international comeback of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. Pant, who last donned the India cap in December 2022, was forced into a long layoff after suffering a car accident. The 26-year-old has proved his worth in IPL 2024, making vital contributions with the bat for Delhi Capitals (DC) and showing athleticism with the ’keeping gloves.

RR captain and fan-favourite Sanju Samson is the second gloveman. Samson has shone bright for RR, batting at a strike-rate of 161.08 with an average of 77.

Keeping faith in Kohli

The selectors have kept their faith in Virat Kohli, who in recent times has been criticised for not keeping a high strike-rate. Kohli had dismissed these concerns after an unbeaten 44-ball 70 for RCB against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, stating that “it is just about winning the game for the team.”

Trust has also been placed on Hardik, who has struggled in his maiden season as captain of Mumbai Indians. Hardik has failed with both bat and ball, and has faced the ire of MI fans who are unhappy with him replacing Rohit as the MI skipper.

India commences its World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium (New York), followed by the highly-anticipated clash against Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue.

India then takes on USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.

Full squad

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.

Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.