No Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh - What if selectors picked India's T20 World Cup squad based on just IPL 2024

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has played a crucial role in Indian cricket since its inception 17 years back. The league has often been regarded as the stepping stone for domestic talents, including uncapped overseas players as well, and has offered a platform for out-of-favour players to force their way back into the national team. Moreover, Indian selectors have rewarded IPL performances over the last decade or so, including selections into the Test team. BCCI is all set to reportedly name India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup on May 1

However, it is important to clarify for the readers here, that IPL never solely played a role in selections with past performances in domestic seasons and in international cricket given equal preferences in making decisions. And it certainly will be the same when BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar will reportedly meet India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday to roughly chalk out India's final 15 for the T20 World Cup tournament before the former sits down with the remainder of the selection committee in Mumbai to announce the list.

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But, what if the selectors were to pick the T20 World Cup squad only based on IPL 2024 performances? Well, if it does happen, the likes of Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and even Suryakumar Yadav will miss out on being part of the 15-member squad. So, let's take a look at which players make the cut after 44 matches (LSG vs RR being last) in IPL 2024…

Openers: Abhishek Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan

Despite the plethora of options available for the spot, which even includes Orange Cap holder Kohli, Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek picks himself following an explosive campaign in IPL 2024 so far, where he has clobbered 288 runs in eight innings at a phenomenal strike rate of 218.18. He has in fact been the most aggressive Indian batter in the powerplay this season, scoring at 12.38 runs per over while requiring less than three balls to score a boundary.

The next best openers have been the Mumbai Indians pair - Rohit and Ishan - who have registered identical powerplay numbers. They have both scored at a tick over 10 runs per over against the shiny white and smashed a boundary every 3.2 deliveries. Overall, Rohit has scored 311 runs in nine matches so far at a strike rate of 160, while Ishan amassed 212 runs in as many matches at a strike rate of 165.62.

Middle-order batters: Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Shashank Singh

The only dilemma that pertained to picking middle-order options was over the selection of Sanju Samson, but the Rajasthan Royals simply announced his name in the list after that thundering knock of 71* off just 33 balls against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday at the Ekana Stadium. Of the 385 runs he scored this season, currently the second-most by a batter, 153 came in the middle overs (7-16) which came at a strike rate of 159.38.

The others include Parag, who has been a revelation this season after scoring 332 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of almost 160 with three fifties, and Pant, who recently blasted an unbeaten 43-ball 83 against Gujarat Titans.

For the finisher's role, we have Karthik and Shashank, who have been the two best Indian batters in the death overs with a strike rate of 253.70 and 212.12, respectively.

All Rounder: Axar Patel, Shivam Dube

The Chennai Super Kings star has been India's best batter in the middle phase has been Shivam Dube, who has a strike rate of 196.97 against spinners between overs 7 and 16 and an overall strike rate of 166, while being dismissed just once. Although he is yet to bowl in IPL2 2024, owing to lack of opportunities due to Impact Player rule, we have still slotted him in the all-rounder position.

Amid the talks around Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya's form and the lack of all-rounders that selectors will have to choose from, Axar has flown under the radar, but his numbers have been impressive this season. With the ball, he picked up seven wickets at an economy rate of 7.36 and also amassed 134 runs at a strike rate of 135.35

Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Sandeep Sharma, Natarajan, Yuzvendra Chahal

Bumrah picked himself after snaring 14 wickets, including a fifer, which came at the cost of just 6.63 runs per over, while Chahal (13 wickets at an economy rate of 9) and Kuldeep (12 wickets at 8.44 economy rate) have been the best two spinners.

This season, two unsung fast bowlers have been making waves-Sandeep and Natarajan. Sandeep, the RR bowler, has been in top form, picking up eight wickets in four matches, including a five-wicket haul. His performance with both the old and new ball has been commendable. Natarajan, on the other hand, who has picked up 11 wickets this season, has been exceptional in the death overs, where he conceded at 9.62 runs per over with a strike rate of 6.86.

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