"Extremely strong": Kumar Sangakkara on Indian squad for T20 WC

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 02 (ANI): Former Sri Lanka cricketer and Rajasthan Royals (RR) Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara hailed India's 15-member side for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 and called it an "extremely strong" squad.

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. While speaking at the pre-match press conference before RR's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 024, Sangakkara said the Men in Blue have a "high-quality" spin attack in their squad for the T20 World Cup 2024.

"It's an extremely strong squad. They've got their batting covered, they've got their all-rounders in. They've got very high-quality spin and they've got very good combinations that they can play," Sangakkara said.

The former Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter said Rohit Sharma-led India have a "well-balanced" squad for the forthcoming ICC event. Sangakkara also pointed out that India have always been strong in international tournaments.

"Knowing the conditions there, I'm sure Rahul (Dravid) and Rohit (Sharma) have a good idea of what the squad should be to play the cricket they want in the World Cup. And they'll be having two or three different combinations, depending on whether they want a deeper batting line-up or more strength in their bowling. But it's a really well-balanced squad, a very strong squad and India's always been very strong in international tournaments," he added.

India have added two wicket-keepers, including Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, to their squad. Star batter Virat Kohli, who has been slamming runs in the ongoing IPL 2024 has also been added into the squad.

Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan have been named as reserve players.

India are placed in Group A of the ICC tournament alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and co-hosts USA.

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)