T20 World Cup: Sunil Gavaskar names THIS India pacer who should have been in Men in Blue's squad

On Tuesday (April 30), the BCCI selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, announced India's 15-man squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, in the West Indies and USA. Rohit Sharma will lead India in the upcoming edition, with Hardik Pandya returning to the national side as the vice-captain. Meanwhile, the squad also saw the inclusion of Shivam Dube, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson whereas four of them were named as reserves. Former Indian opener-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar shared his views on the provisional squad and feels T Natarajan, playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2024, should have been added.

Natarajan has been part of the Pat Cummins-led SRH franchise in the ongoing IPL season. He has been an integral part of the lineup, nailing his yorkers and maintainingstringent lines indeath overs. Natarajan has picked 13 wickets at an average of 19.38 and a strike rate of 12.92. Although he has been a bit expensive, with an economy of 9, he has bowled the tough overs in the end. Thus, Gavaskar feels Natarajan should have been part of the 15-man squad, which comprises reserve players such as Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed.

'T Natarajanhas been bowling extremely well'

Add WION as a Preferred Source

While talking to India Today, Gavaskar said, "I was thinking more like T Natarajan, the left-arm pacer bowler. He has been bowling extremely well. So, I thought maybe he could have been in the team. But that's okay. I think the seam bowlers that they have got, they all have experience. So no problem with that."

Notably, India will enter the T20 WC with four spinners (Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav) and just three specialist pacers. However,Gavaskar believes that all-rounder Hardik Pandyawill serve as the fourth-seam bowling option for the one-time winners.

Gavaskar said, "Well, there is Hardik Pandya to bowl as well as the fourth seam bowler, so maybe that's the reason they've (selectors) gone with four spin bowlers. The pitches in the West Indies... there'll be a little more help for the spinners than for the quick bowlers. As we have seen in the IPL, the slower the deliveries, the harder it is for the batters to hit and that's perhaps the reason why they have gone with extra spinner."

Gavaskar highlighted that a change in 'attitude' and 'approach'could ensure the Rohit-led team's success in the upcoming edition and help them end their trophy hunt since 2013. He added, "There have been changes in attitude, changes in approach, which we saw in the 50-over World Cup (last year in India), and that augurs well for this (T20) World Cup as well."

India Squad for T20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashashvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav,Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal,Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Reserves:Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan