The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is just one sleep away, and the first game of the tournament is scheduled to take place on Saturday. The USA and West Indies will host the tournament, and a total of 55 matches will be played between 20 teams across the globe. Team India will start their campaign on June 5 (Wednesday) with a match against Ireland at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.
Rohit Sharma will be leading the team into this mega event, while Hardik Pandya will assist him. India are in Group A with Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and USA. The conditions in the USA and West Indies are likely to be on the slower side, which is one reason that India have selected four specialist spinners in the squad and only three pacers have been picked.
T20 World Cup 2024: Team India have taken a big risk – Michael Clarke on India’s chances
India will enter the tournament as one of the favorites to win it. That’s what many former cricketers and cricket experts also think. India have been one of the best teams in the competition and have a number of match-winners on their side. Former 2015 World Cup-winning captain Michael Clarke has also termed India the favorites to win, but he has also shared a concerning point.
In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo on the Around the Wicket show, Clarke said that India have taken a big risk by going with a spin-heavy bowling unit. However, he also said that India have prepared well for the T20 World Cup 2024. Clarke said, “I think India have taken a risk with the squad they have picked – heavily reliant on spin, very different from Australia. But in the conditions that I have played in the Caribbean I think how you play spin is going to be a huge part of whether you succeed or not. Conditions are different to India but there are a lot of similarities, so the players would be used to that.”
Team India will play one warm-up game ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. They will be facing Bangladesh on June 1 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. Notably, India have picked up four spinners: Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal, while Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Siraj are three pacers.