India coach Rahul Dravid with captain Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja before leaving for New York to participate in the T20 World Cup 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Following Team India’s first training session ahead of their ICC T20 World Cup opening clash, star allrounder Ravindra Jadeja said it will be fun playing cricket in New York.

The ICC T20 World Cup will be played in the West Indies and the USA from June 1 to 29. Men in Blue will also play Bangladesh in their only warm-up game on June 1 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to their official social media handle and shared and shared a glimpse of their first training session in the US. In the video, Jadeja sounded hopeful before the start of the mega tournament.

“First time we gonna play cricket in New York, it’s gonna be fun,” Jadeja said in the video.The strength and conditioning coach of Team India Soham Desai said the players have eased their routines after reaching New York.

“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…,” Soham said.

Meanwhile, India pacer Jasprit Bumrah 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.”

The Men in Blue vice-captain and allrounder Hardik Pandya said, “very exciting to be here in New York, has a good vibe, bright sun out.”

“I heard the cricket is growing here in the U.S., so we are really excited and the first day here was amazing, so very excited for the few days coming up,” Suryakumar Yadav further added.

India will start their T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

Meanwhile, the most-awaited blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan will take place on June 9. They will later play tournament co-hosts USA (June 12) and Canada (June 15) to wrap up their Group A matches.

In the tournament, India will be aiming to end their ICC trophy drought, having last won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Since then, India has reached the 50-over World Cup final in 2023, semifinal in 2015 and 2019, the title clash of the ICC World Test Championship in 2021 and 2023, T20 WC final in 2014, semifinals in 2016 and 2022 but failed to secure a big ICC trophy.

India squad for T20 World Cup:

15-member squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (VC), 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.

The ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2024 will be the ninth edition. This year edition will be co-hosted by West Indies and the United States starting from June 1 and the final will be on June 29. Incidentally, this will be the first ICC World Cup tournament to be held in the United States. The current champion is England.

England and West Indies have won the title two times while Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India have lifted the title once each.

Also Read | India’s T20 World Cup squad

ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2024 will be contested by a record 20 teams, an expansion from 16 teams in the 2022 tournament. Canada and Uganda qualified for the first time while the United States will be playing for the first time by virtue of being co-hosts.

The teams participating in the tournament are India, Pakistan, Australia, England, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United States (hosts), West Indies (hosts), Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Canada, Nepal, Oman, Namibia and Uganda.

The ICC has shortlisted four venues in the United States and six in West Indies.

Following are the groups

Group A: India (A1), Pakistan (A2), Canada, Ireland, United States

Group B: England (B1), Australia (B2), Namibia, Scotland and Oman

Group C: New Zealand (C1), West Indies (C2), Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Uganda

Group D: South Africa (D1), Sri Lanka (D2), Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal

The top two teams from each group will be placed into two groups of four teams each in the Super 8 stage.

Super 8 Stage

Group 1: A1, B2, C1, D2

Group 2: A2, B1, C2, D1

Semifinal

Winner of Group 1 vs Runner–up of Group 2

Winner of Group 2 vs Runner-up of Group 1

The following is full schedule

From June 19, 2024 Super 8 matches will be played with the semifinal on June 27 and the final will be played on June 29, 2024.

The teams

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), 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

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik. Reserves: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Canada: Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Dilon Heyliger, Dilpreet Bajwa, Harsh Thaker, Jeremy Gordon, Junaid Siddiqui, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Pargat Singh, Ravinderpal Singh, Rayyankhan Pathan, Shreyas Movva. Reserves: Tajinder Singh, Aaditya Varadharajan, Ammar Khalid, Jatinder Matharu, Parveen Kumar.

England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood

Ireland: Paul Stirling (Capt), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger and PD Blignaut.

Nepal: Rohit Paudel (c), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Sundeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee

Netherlands: Scott Edwards (captain), Aryan Dutt, Bas de Leede, Daniel Doram, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Logan van Beek, Max O’Dowd, Michael Levitt, Paul van Meekeren, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, Tim Pringle, Vikram Singh and Wesley Barresi. 

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. Travelling Reserve: Ben Sears

Oman: Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale (wk), Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi (wk), Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad, Khalid Kail. Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra

Papua New Guinea: Assadollah Vala (c), CJ Amini (vc), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Vagi Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau, Tony Ura

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.

Scotland: Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt and Brad Wheal.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs

Sri Lanka: Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka (vc), Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, and Dilshan Madushanka. Reserves: Asitha Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Janith Liyanage.

Uganda: Brian Masaba (c), Riazat Ali Shah (vc), Kenneth Waiswa, Dinesh Nakrani, Frank Nsubuga, Ronak Patel, Roger Mukasa, Cosmas Kyewuta, Bilal Hassun, Fred Achelam, Robinson Obuya, Simon Ssesazi, Henry Ssenyondo, Alpesh Ramjani and Juma Miyaji. Reserve players: Ronald Lutaaya and Innocent Mwebaze.

United States: Monank Patel (captain), Aaron Jones (vice-Captain), Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Nethralvakar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir. Reserve Players: Gajanand Singh, Juanoy Drysdale, Yasir Mohammad.

West Indies: Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd

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.