T20 World Cup 2024: There’s no stopping cricket in the coming few months. The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) is already underway and post its completion, there will be the onset of the T20 World Cup 2024. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the IPL 2024 and the auditions for the T20 World Cup 2024 are running parallel for Team India.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel must be working overtime, keeping them glued to the IPL 2024 action for the player selection. The major conundrum for them would be the pick between Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order alongside captain Rohit Sharma.
24-year-old Shubman Gill has already announced his arrival in the IPL 2024 with his sublime unbeaten knock of 89 runs in 48 deliveries against Punjab Kings (PBKS), last night. However, this doesn’t make the situation easy for the selectors.
Interestingly, Gill was the orange cap holder of the TATA IPL 2023, having scored 890 runs in 17 innings of the T20 tournament. He batter has scored 355 runs in his T20I career in 14 innings at a strike rate of 147.57.
Despite all such magical numbers, things appear to be pale for Shubman Gill as far as his place in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad is concerned.
Shubman Gill is directly competing with Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order in T20Is. Being a left-handed dynamic opener, he provides a more versatile option to the Indian team. He seems to be more attacking and can have a go right from ball one in T20Is.
Seasoned broadcaster and former cricketer Simon Doull reckons Shubman Gill’s direct competition is Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top order in the Indian side for the T20 World Cup 2024.
“Not yet. No, no, no,” started off Doull, on Cricbuzz, when asked if Gill made the T20 World Cup squad after his knock of 89 against Punjab.
“He’s got a, you know, I mean, that spot up the top when you take in a World Cup 15. It should be 18 in my opinion. But when you’re taking that side and you’re picking it, you really only carry one extra top-order batter. You’ve probably only room for one top-order replacement batter if it happens to be someone like KL Rahul, who can keep wickets for you. And that is a real bonus. That top-order replacement batter, he keeps, Shubman doesn’t keep. And if he can’t make the side ahead of Jaiswal, Rohit and Virat at the moment, he probably doesn’t go,” he explained.
Notably, India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad is likely to be announced at the end of April. The selection committee, which is keeping a close watch on the action across the IPL, is anticipated to make some surprising moves as well.
