Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya dropped, Mayank Yadav takes Siraj’s place in India’s T20 World Cup squad of Harbhajan Singh

Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya did not find a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad selected by Harbhajan Singh. Despite the highly-intriguing stage the IPL 2024 finds itself in, it’s the T20 World Cup that everyone has their eyes on. The ICC event which will make its debut in the USA and return to the West Indies for the first time in 2010 promises to be a grand cricketing extravaganza and provide Team India an opportunity to end their agonising wait. It’s been 11 years since India last won an ICC trophy, let alone the World Cup. There were plenty of chances in between though – almost every year – but while India entered these tournaments as favourites almost every time, they failed to live up to the billing. Will the wait finally end in 2024? Only time will tell, but for it to happen, India need to do plenty of things right, starting with the squad selection. The deadline for the boards to reveal their final 15 is May 1; hence, over the next six days, the entire picture will be unveiled. As the date approaches, the excitement in the air is palpable, and to offer a glimpse of what’s in store, several former cricketers are picking their own India squad of 15. Another day. Another T20 World Cup squad prediction. And another 15 without Hardik Pandya. The Mumbai Indians captain apparently isn’t a favourite of many. After being left out of Ambati Rayudu and Irfan Pathan’s squad, and also Virender Sehwag’s T20 World Cup Playing XI, Hardik has failed to secure a place in Harbhajan Singh’s list of players as well. The former India spinner, instead, went ahead with Shivam Dube at No. 7 and Rinku Singh at 6 to settle the allrounder-cum-finisher debate. Harbhajan’s top order has no surprises. Rohit Sharma the captain opens with Yashasvi Jaiswal, followed by Virat Kohli at 3 and Suryakumar Yadav at 4. That Shubman Gill isn’t the opener but Jaiswal is could be a subject of debate – Gill has more runs than Jaiswal in IPL 2024 – but it isn’t an unexpected call. Jaiswal was always tipped to be Rohit’s opening partner, and the century against Mumbai Indians the other evening only solidified that belief.