The 2024 T20 World Cup is knocking at the door with less than a week left for the inaugural match. The current edition sprinkles excitement in the format, with 20 teams participating for the first time in the tournament. While Australia, England, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies are a few star-studded sides, the blend of associate nations with a few low-ranked Test-playing nations adds a fresh vibe to the competition’s history.
Since its inception in 2007, the tournament has seen plenty of winners, with hosts West Indies clinching the trophy along with England. Other winners are Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Australia.
The BCCI announced Rohit Sharma as the skipper of the side with Hardik Pandya named as his deputy. It would be interesting to see if the inaugural champions can end their ICC event jinx and clinch a trophy after eleven years. In this piece, we shall deep dive into the Indian side- their strengths, weaknesses, X Factor and predictions for the T20 World Cup. 
India squad for T20 World Cup 2024
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube
Pacers: Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav, Yuvvendra Chahal
Reserves: Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan
Strengths of India in T20 World Cup 2024
- Robust top order
The Indian side has one of the top-notch top-order batting line-ups. Irrespective of the opening pair, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Rishabh Pant provide a tremendous batting order that can tee off any bowling attack on their day. While it is speculated that Rohit might don the aggressor’s role inside the powerplay, Kohli can play the long innings and take the team deep. If Jaiswal plays, he will likely play his natural game freely, while Suryakumar Yadav is one of the best T20 batters in modern times. In addition, the wicketkeeper-batters Sanju Samson and Pant were in scintillating form with the bat and are expected to transcend it in the mega-event.
- Spin it to win it
The Indian contingent boasts of a spin-heavy attack that will likely soothe the conditions in the West Indies and the USA. Kuldeep Yadav has recently been in outstanding form after bucketing 15 and 16 wickets in eleven matches each during the 2023 World Cup and IPL 2024. After a tweak in his bowling phenomenon, he has been a revelation and is likely to enjoy the conditions in the West Indies.
Bowlers like Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja could be valuable as they tend to keep things tight during the middle-overs phase. They have a wealth of experience in this format and are one of the best in the business when it comes to left-arm orthodox bowling. In addition, Yuzvendra Chahal’s presence boosts India’s spin unit with the leggie vying to stamp his authority in his international comeback.
Where India might lose the plot in World Cup 2024?
Lack of slog over depth
Jasprit Bumrah snarred 20 wickets in 12 matches for the Mumbai Indians during IPL 2024, thus becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in the tourney. He will spearhead the Men in Blue pace unit in the upcoming mega-event. While Bumrah is a master of his art across various phases of the game, he might lack proper support from the other end.
The options for supporting pacers include Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj. While both pacers have improved their game by leaps and bounds, they have been expensive in the slog overs of IPL 2024. Siraj and Arshdeep are better exponents of swing bowling and have often struggled to control their variations when the opposition batter tends to attack them.
The fear of failure in knockouts
India have been eliminated in the knockouts thrice in the last four editions of the T20 World Cup. 2021 is the only year they were axed from the group stages. Despite being one of the consistent communities to make the knockout stages in ICC events, they have failed to clinch the silverware.
The Asian Giants have been dominating the group stages before succumbing under pressure. This has been a trend for almost a decade now, and the Indian side needs to find a way to overcome this fear of failure.
X-Factor of India in T20 World Cup 2024
Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube
The BCCI opted to back Shivam Dube’s skillset to attack spin during the middle overs for the upcoming ICC event. The all-rounder was brilliant with the bat during the middle and slog overs phase and is one of the best players against spin currently. Although he did not end the IPL on a high despite a good start, Dube would be positive about making an impact on his three-dimensional skills.
When it comes to the ICC rankings, Suryakumar sits at the top in the particular format. He is a 360-degree player coming off a start-stop IPL season with some impactful scores blended with single-digit numbers. Surya can accelerate during and after the powerplay restrictions and could play a huge role in boosting the team’s batting in the World Cup.
Prediction time
While many cricket pundits believe India are one of the strong contenders for the title, a fear of failure in the knockouts haunts the side. This could be the last opportunity for the Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid partnership to help the nation win an ICC trophy. There are certain loopholes in the side and it would be seen if the team could cover up and stand formidable ahead of the other teams.
