Ok.L. Rahul was omitted of the Indian group for the T20 World Cup 2024 on Tuesday, with Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant making it to the 15-member squad.
The omission raised just a few eyebrows given Rahul’s spectacular run within the Indian Premier League (IPL) this yr, the place he has scored 378 runs in 9 innings at a mean of 42 and a strike price of over 144 for the Lucknow Tremendous Giants (LSG).
A doable purpose for the selectors preferring Samson and Pant over Rahul could possibly be that the LSG batter largely performs within the high order. In T20Is, Rahul has performed 54 innings as opener, 10 innings at No. 3 and simply 4 at No. 4.
Within the earlier World Cup version, in Australia in 2022, Rahul had scored 128 runs in six innings at a mean of 21 and a strike price simply above 120. This time, India merely had extra choices on the high in Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubhman Gill, and Abhishek Sharma.
With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli sure to begin within the eleven, there was room for under Jaiswal within the high order. Even Shubman, who received the IPL Orange Cap final yr, may solely get to the reserves. Abhishek didn’t make the minimize altogether. Additional, Rahul can’t be slotted in at No. 4 over Suryakumar Yadav.
When it comes to the wicketkeeper’s choice, the return of Rishabh Pant from his harm hiatus made issues additional tough for Rahul.
Rahul’s strike price of 144 might need labored towards him too. Whereas Samson and Pant have related returns when it comes to runs in IPL 2024, each have higher strike charges than Rahul. Pant has scored at over 158 whereas Samson takes it even greater to 161.
With Rahul’s lack of expertise batting within the center order, it could have been tough to go for him over Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh. As stellar a document as Rahul might need within the shortest format of the sport, he misplaced out on a spot purely as a result of fast change within the nature of the sport.