ICC T20 World Cup 2024: 3 possible reasons why India went in with four spinning options in their squad

Rohit Sharma and his Team India sprang a surprise as the team decided to go in with four spinners for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Ravi Bishnoi wasn’t included but veteran star Yuzvendra Chahal was given a recall back to the side. 

The team also has Kuldeep Yadav along with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel as the other spin options. While speaking to the media, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma made a poignant statement about the reason behind this move. 

Rohit Sharma said “I Know all the other captains are listening to this. I’ll tell you I wanted four spinners at any cost. I can’t tell you the reason behind it. There are technical aspects which I cannot reveal. I will tell you that in the World Cup”

Here we cast a look at the possible four reasons why India decided to go in with four spinners:

3. Playing surfaces in West Indies conducive for spin 

The last few decades have seen the playing surfaces in the West Indies become conducive for the slower bowlers. India expects itself to make it out of its group with relative ease and head to the Caribbean to play in the next stage of the tournament. 

Places like Port of Spain and Guyana as well as the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua have offered something for the spinners. The likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal in particular can extract a lot from the surfaces while Jadeja and Axar can stifle the scoring. 

2. Horses for courses strategy to be employed 

In his current form, Kuldeep Yadav will walk into the XI irrespective of any playing surface. The conditions in the US especially in New York where India is set to play most of its matches aren’t known as yet. 

If the pitch does start to offer turn right from the first game, Rohit Sharma might opt to play Chahal and Kuldeep as his frontline spinners. The third spinner could very well be a toss-up between Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel as both are similar in their styles and can also contribute with the bat. 

1. Is Rohit Sharma opting to go for the unthinkable?-

Not many teams have played four spinners in a T20 match but knowing Rohit Sharma’s style of captaincy he could throw a surprise. While the probability of this happening is low, but one cannot rule out the chance of India going in with all four spinners. 

The pace attack will be spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah and India also has Hardik Pandya as a seam option. The form of Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh during IPL 2024 hasn’t been convincing while all the four spinners have done reasonably well. Should India go in with four spinners the course of the game could change and India may very well have four aces up their sleeve.