Former England spinner Monty Panesar names "surprise" omission, "key factor" in India's T20 WC squad

New Delhi [India], May 1 (ANI): Former England spinner Monty Panesar feels Rinku Singh was a surprise omission from India's World Cup squad and named Shivam Dube as the key factor during the Men in Blue's hunt for World Cup glory.
India announced their 15-player squad on Tuesday, with a couple of surprise exclusions. Shubman Gill and Rinku Singh failed to find a spot for themselves for the marquee event which will begin in June with the USA and the West Indies hosting the tournament.
Seasoned wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was also in the mix on the back of his influential outings with the bat for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
However, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson were favored ahead of the veteran wicketkeeper batter.
"India's World Cup squad I think has been put perfectly. There was debate about whether you would go for Dinesh Karthik as second keeper, Rishabh Pant was always going to be there. I think the real excitement for India is Dube, his form," Panesar told ANI.
In the ongoing IPL season, the left-handed all-rounder has 350 runs to his name, scoring at an average of 58.33 and a whopping strike rate of 172.41 in nine matches.
Dube has featured mostly in the number four spot for the Chennai Super Kings. Depending on the situation of the game he has played the role of a finisher as well as a middle-order batter to bring stability when the defending champions lost wickets early.
Panesar feels that the way India will use Dube will play a key factor in their World Cup campaign.
"He has been unbelievable and how they manage him, where do they put him? Do they put him in the finisher role, or do they bring him in the 8th or the 9th over when they have lost a couple of wickets? It will be interesting to see the development of Dube because that is going to be the key factor for India to win the World Cup. How do they get the best out of him," he added.
While emphasizing the importance of another all-rounder who is a part of the Indian set-up Hardik Pandya, the former English spinner stated that Dube's blistering form this season could have played a role in Rinku's omission.
"Hardik Pandya as well. His bowling is going to be important as well as his batting we all know what he is capable of doing. One surprise was Rinku Singh who didn't get picked. I think it is probably understandable because Dube's form has been unbelievable," Panesar added.
Along with Pant, Sanju Samson has been named as the second wicketkeeper batter in the Indian team on the back of a strong season.
Along with Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal has made his return to the Indian setup making a formidable spin attack.
"Sanju Samson we are finally seeing how good he is as captain. He has done well for Rajasthan Royals. I think he may just play as a sole batsman. But overall when you look at the side it looks like a very very good team. The bowling attack is all covered. All bases are covered in terms of bowling the fantastic leg spin of Chahal. I think it is a really strong squad they are gonna be favorites it is just about how they put together their talented players," Panesar concluded.
India is placed in Group A of the ICC tournament alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 05, 2024, at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan on June 09, 2024 at the same venue. India will then play the USA and Canada on June 12 and 15 respectively.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (Wk), Sanju Samson (Wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj. (ANI)