Ex-BCCI Chief Selector Takes A Jibe At India T20 World Cup Squad

Former BCCI chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar believes that India has one of the strongest teams heading into the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. India will face Bangladesh in their sole practice match on Saturday, just days before their T20 World Cup opener against Ireland in New York on June 5. The Indian team, led by captain Rohit Sharma, arrived in New York earlier this week to start their tournament preparations.

A win in the warm-up game and playing at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, #TeamIndia members share their thoughts 🙌🙌
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Dilip Vengarsarkar's Blunt Take On Team India T20 World Cup Selection

"The current Indian team, I think, is one of the best in the world, I would say. If you could, you know, put a Gill out or Rahul or Rinku Singh out, I'm sure it's a very strong team. And I wish them all the success. Because, I think, it's one of the best in the world at the moment", Vengsarkar said at an event at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

"The key players would like to play an important role in this T20 World Cup. It's very difficult to say in this format because everybody is a very important member of the team. But the thing is that, as you have seen in IPL, the first six were very important. How you give a good start in the first six was very important. And of course, in this format, anything can happen. But I can't say X, Y or Z is a key player in the team. In this format, anybody can win the match at any time of the match," he added.

Speaking at a recent event, Vengsarkar suggested that India boasts one of the strongest squads in the tournament, despite the omission of key players like KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Rinku Singh from the 15-man squad. Gill and Rinku have joined the team as traveling reserves, while Rahul is absent from both the main and reserve lists.

Vengsarkar also emphasized the unpredictable nature of the T20 format, noting that any player can be a match-winner on a given day.

India is placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and T20 World Cup co-hosts USA. Virat Kohli missed team training this week as he is expected to arrive in New York just hours before India's warm-up match.

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