Michael Clarke the former Australian captain opines that India has ventured into risky territory with the selection of four spinners in their 15player squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. While acknowledging the gamble involved he also recognizes the potential success of this strategy under the Caribbean conditions portraying India as a significant threat in the forthcoming ICC event.
Opinions have been widely split over Team Indias strategic move to select four spinners and only three pacers for the 2024 T20 World Cup scheduled to unfold in the West Indies and the United States from June 1 to June 29.
Apart from the leftarm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal India has enlisted two spinbowling allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj stand out as the frontline pace bowlers.
Michael Clarke told ESPN that while India took a risk by selecting four spinners for the T20 World Cup, the move might prove to be pivotal. He elaborated:
“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. India are the biggest threat for me with regards to who is going to win the World Cup.”
Michael Clarke
Kuldeep has bagged 59 wickets in 35 T20I matches at an average of 14.10 and an economy rate of 6.74 whereas Chahal boasts 96 scalps from 80 matches with an average of 25.09 and an economy rate of 8.19. Looking at the allrounders Jadeja notches 53 wickets from 66 games while Axar holds 49 wickets from 52 matches.
India favorites because of the amount of cricket they have played: Michael Clarke
While discussing India’s prospects of breaking the ICC curse, Michael Clarke believes the Men in Blue are the favorites due to the quantity of cricket they have played leading up to the 2024 T20 World Cup.
“If you look at the favorites for the World Cup it’s got to be India just because of the amount of cricket they have played, their preparation has been outstanding. Conditions are different to India but there are a lot of similarities so the players would be used to that.”
Michael Clarke
Indian players from the T20 World Cup recently competed in the IPL. However, none of the 15 members of the ICC side made it to the final.