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Star batter KL Rahul's dream of playing as a wicketkeeper-batsman in the T20 World Cup 2024 got dashed as soon as BCCI announced India's 15-member squad on April 30. Despite a decent showing in IPL 2024, where KL Rahul scored 406 runs in 10 matches, he was not included in the final 15-member squad. The deciding factor might have been his strike rate, which clocked in at 142.95. This fell short compared to the wicketkeepers who were selected - Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson. Both Pant and Samson impressed the selectors with their higher strike rates during IPL 2024. Interestingly, the day the T20 World Cup squad was announced, Rahul was still leading his IPL franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, in their match against Mumbai Indians. Not just this, he also led LSG to four-wicket win over HardiK Pandya's MI on Arpil 30.
Meanwhile, after finding his name missing from India's T20 World Cup squad, Rahul expressed his heartbreak in his own way. He took to social media and posted an emoticon of heartbreak. However, later Rahul deleted his post from his X domain.
Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants also took to X with a cryptic post after Rahul's exclusion from India's T20 World Cup squad. LSG's post read:
“Our No.1 since Day Zero 💙”.
Post India's T20 World Cup team's announcement, one of the famous Bollywood stars, Riteish Deshmukh, came to Rahul's rescue. He wrote on X:
"KL Rahul should have been there in the #T20WorldCup squad."
While KL Rahul's omission from the main squad grabbed headlines, Shubman Gill and Rinku Singh were also notable absentees. However, both players were named as reserves, offering them a chance to join the main squad if needed. The reserve list also includes fast bowlers Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan, providing additional options for the team in case of injuries or strategic shifts during the tournament.
Team India is set to kick off their T20 World Cup campaign in the bustling city of New York. Rohit Sharma's brigade's T20 World Cup campaign starts on June 5 with a clash against Ireland at the newly-built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. Cricket fever will surely be at an all-time high when India faces arch-rivals Pakistan just four days later, on June 9, at the same venue. This highly anticipated encounter promises to be a nail-biting spectacle for fans worldwide.
Following their marquee matches, India will then shift focus to their remaining Group A fixtures. They'll play USA on June 12 and Canada on June 15, aiming to secure a strong position for the knockout stages.
India’s Fixtures for T20 World Cup 2024-(Group A matches)
| Date | Match | Venue |
| 5 June | India vs Ireland | Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York |
| 9 June | India vs Pakistan | Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York |
| 12 June | USA vs India | Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York |
| 15 June | India vs Canada | Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill |
India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), 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
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
England announce 15-member T20 World Cup squad under Jos Buttler's captaincy; Jofra Archer makes much-awaited return
South Africa announce 15-member T20 World Cup squad under Aiden Markram's captaincy; 2 players receive maiden T20I call-up
