The selectors will pick the India squad for T20 World Cup 2024 at the end of next month. With the May 25 final deadline to submit the squad to the ICC, selectors will do that in advance considering the nightmare of getting visa for the USA and West Indies. And as expected, performance in the IPL 2024 will get preference. All four selectors are currently travelling across India to watch IPL matches, especially monitoring the targeted players.
“The Indian team will be selected sometime during the last week of April, the time by which the first half of IPL will be over and the national selection committee will be in a position to assess the form and fitness of the contenders,” a senior BCCI source told PTI.
IPL 2024 performance to get preference
With IPL 2024 ongoing, it was already expected that performance in the tournament would get noticed. But selectors will only be able to consider the performance in the first half of the tournament. IPL 2024 will end on May 26 with the deadline being May 25. Hence, selectors will have a month to further assess the performance and their fitness level to make changes if necessary.
Currently, the selectors and the National Cricket Academy are monitoring the players. Although workload management is a concern, the NCA has not asked the franchises to manage players’ workloads. Instead, the NCA is only keeping a tab on the targeted players.
“Obviously, if any centrally contracted or targeted player gets injured, his case will automatically come under the purview of the NCA’s Medicine and Sports Science team. Also for the centrally contracted players and targeted players, the S&C coaches and physios need to keep NCA in the loop,” the BCCI source told PTI.
“But when players are contracted with franchises, BCCI can’t dictate how many matches they will play. As far as bowlers are concerned, it is only four overs.”
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Players to leave on May 19
Some of the players who will be ousted from IPL 2024 playoffs race will leave early for the USA on May 19. Those who will be in the playoffs will take the flight to the USA on May 27, a day after the final.
With very little time before India’s T20 World Cup opener on June 5 vs Ireland, players need to get adjusted to the time difference. Team India will play three matches in New York before travelling to Florida. There is a 9.5-hour time difference between India and New York City. Hence, players will need time to acclimatise.
“The first batch of cricketers will leave for New York immediately after the end of the league stage of IPL on May 19. Those players, whose teams won’t qualify for the final four will be going early, like it happened during WTC finals last year,” the source added.
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