The senior national selectors are likely to meet this weekend in Mumbai to name the 15-member Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in the West Indies and the USA later this year, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sources told IANS. The ICC has set a deadline of May 1 for the participating boards to announce their provisional squads for the mega sporting spectacle. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) faces the challenge of picking a balanced 15-man squad based on players’ performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.

Sources said to IANS, “They (selectors) will sit on April 27 or 28 to pick the 15-member squad. It will be really tough to name the squad as some young guns are really impressive in the ongoing IPL.”

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant produced a brilliant performance with the bat as Delhi Capitals defeated Gujarat Titans in a thrilling IPL 2024 encounter on Wednesday. The DC skipper was in fine form as he slammed an unbeaten 88 off just 43 deliveries with the help of 5 boundaries and 8 sixes. The knock reignited the chatter around Pant’s possible inclusion in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024.

While the wicket-keeper batter is being considered to be a top contender, former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull believes that he does not fit in the middle order right now and things would have been easier if he could bat at No. 3 after the rumoured opening partnership of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

“He’s getting closer. Can he bat at 3? Because I go back to the team I’m looking at (for T20 World Cup), and he doesn’t fit in the middle-order. If he can, he’s getting a step closer to the boarding pass,” Doull said on Cricbuzz.

“He’s a better player than a slogger or hitter. He comes, and he eases his way into his innings. That’s why I say he’s a terrific Test player. He’s a fine batter. But I don’t think he’s a player who comes out and starts slogging, not in modern-day T20 cricket. That’s why his numbers aren’t nowhere near as good as they possibly should. So, my question is, could he bat at 3 behind the skipper and Virat (Kohli)?” he added.

(With agency inputs)