Former Team India head coach and commentator Ravi Shastri overlooked the captain Rohit Sharma and batting maestro Virat Kohli as he unveils his top two key players for the Men in Blue in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies.
Shastri called the two left-handed big-hitters the key to the Indian cricket team’s title hopes in the upcoming tournament T20 World Cup 2024, and there are two debutants, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube. Both Jaiswal and Dube have earned their place in India’s 15-man squad for the mega tournament.
Jaiswal’s exceptional performance in the ICC World Test Championship series against England, where he set a new record for highest run score, has already attracted a lot of attention around the world for his batting skills. He has also scored 502 runs in just 16 innings for India so far.
You have to be wary of these two gentlemen: Ravi Shastri
On the other hand, Dube has showcased his explosive batting skills in the ongoing IPL 2024 where he has already hit 26 sixes in just 11 matches for the CSK. Shastri praised Dube as a match-winner and a great spin player. He has amassed 350 runs in 11 IPL 2024 games so far.
Ravi Shastri was quoted by the ICC as saying: “You have to watch out for both men, and both are left-handed and both are playing in a World Cup for the first time. One of them is Yashasvi Jaiswal. We know a lot about him, he did extremely well against England, was explosive at the top, left-handed, he’s young, he’s fearless and he’ll play balls.”
Shastri added: “But there is someone in the middle order, please look out for Shivam Dube because he is explosive, he is devastating and he is a match-winner. He hits sixes for fun and when it comes to spin bowling, he can kill you. He’ll park a few balls from Long Island to the little island, he’s that kind of player. It hits big, it hits long, and like I said, against the spin it could kill you. So, enjoy it, watch out for this lefty – he’s big, he’s powerful and he hits a long ball.”
At the end, Shastri also highlighted the importance of Dube’s role in the Indian team, especially in the middle order, to quickly turn the momentum of the game around in crucial situations. He also praised Dube’s ability to adapt to fast bowlers and his potential to boost India’s strike rate through his high strike rate, often hovering around 200.
Shastri believes Dube’s explosive batting style can help India post competitive totals of 190s or 200s, which are a must in major tournaments like the T20 World Cup. He described Dube as a powerful left-handed batsman and praised his powerful batting skills. Notably, the 2024 T20 World Cup will begin on June 1 in the USA and the Caribbean.
Here is India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024:
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (week), Sanju Samson (week), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh . , Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj. Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.