70-80% of the T20 WC squad was selected before the IPL: Rohit Sharma

Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma revealed that the core group for the upcoming T20 World Cup was decided before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. This statement clarifies that the performances in the ongoing IPL season did not significantly influence the selection of the World Cup squad.

Rohit Sharma, who will lead India’s 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup, stated that the selection committee and the leadership group had already decided on the core group well before the IPL. He emphasized that only a few spots needed to be decided during the IPL season. The selectors and the leadership group had an idea of what their core group would be like, which constituted about 70-80% of the squad.

Rohit Sharma speaks on the selection of the T20 WC squad

“Look, I think a lot of the ICC tournaments that we played in the recent past…we were fortunate that we had Asia Cup before the 50-over World Cup. And we didn’t have any games before the WTC final last year. We straight from IPL moved into that final. Like Ajit said rightly, we started talking about what the combination would look like,” Rohit Sharma said in Mumbai on Thursday.

“We sort of make your playing XI in your mind and try and work around it. A lot of the prep, the talk happens during the IPL and a lot of these guys have been playing this format for a while. It’s not like there’s anyone new. They all have been playing international cricket and the IPL. The talk of what our 15 was going to be like started much before the IPL.

“We just had to look at a few individuals during the IPL. In the IPL, the performance changes every day, you can’t really change your plan around it. We had an idea of what our core group, 70-80 per cent of the squad before the IPL. And a few changes after that, we were prepared for that as well,” Rohit added.

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