T20 World Cup: Team India can go all the way in Dravid-Rohit combo's last assignment

IANS

Mumbai, May 19

India's coach-captain combine of Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma is all set for their third ICC World Cup competition in the last two years, which will definitely be their final major event when the Men-in-Blue land in the USA and Caribbean for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, starting on June 1. 

With Dravid showing no interest in continuing, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is searching for a new Head Coach for the men's side and thus the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 will be their last event as coach and captain combine.

The question foremost in the minds of Indian cricket fans is whether Dravid and Rohit will be able to spearhead India to the title in the T20 World Cup 2024. Will they be able to help India regain the title after their triumph in the inaugural edition in 2007?

This will be their third ICC event since 2022. Their first tilt as a combine at an ICC event was in the T20 World Cup in 2022 in Australia. 

The Indian team reached the semifinals but lost to eventual Champions England. Next came the 2023 World Test Championship Final against Australia which too ended in disappointment for Dravid and Sharma as they succumbed to the brilliant onslaught by Travis Head.

They reached the zenith of their combined as coach and captain at the Men's One-day World Cup at home when India reached the final after a brilliant unbeaten run in the league stage, winning all nine league matches. They handed New Zealand a 70-run defeat in the semifinal to reach the final but went down to Australia by six wickets in the summit clash.

Considering the way things are going, it may also prove to be the last T20 World Cup for Rohit Sharma, who was a member of the squad that won the inaugural edition in 2007.

The selectors have picked a strong 15-member side and besides Virat and Rohit, Ravindra Jadeja, Suryakumar Yadav, Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav were part of the team that played the 2023 ODI World Cup final.

The squad has been bolstered by the return of wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who has made a successful return after a 14-month break in the India Premier League. 

Hardik Pandya, who had pulled out of the 2023 World Cup due to an injury suffered during the clash with Bangladesh in Pune, is also back in action, though his return has not been as successful as that of Pant and Pandya had to suffer the ignominy of being booed by fans in Indian stadiums.

Though there is not much gap between the IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup, the fact that the players go into the World Cup with sufficient match practice augurs well for the squad.

Indian Squad for T20 World Cup: 

Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (V-C), 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.

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