India T20 World Cup squad press conference: Rohit and Agarkar justify players' selection

After more than an hour's wait, the press conference ended pretty quickly. Well, the captain and the chief selector is backing this team to the hilt. There were some funny answers from Rohit Sharma to some questions but a lot revealed to some burning questions as well. We hope you enjoyed our coverage of the press conference. Stay tuned to India TV for more latest stories and updates related to T20 World Cup 2024 and of course, the IPL. Hop on your tabs as the SRH vs RR clash starts soon at 7:30. You can follow updates here on India TV.

Agarkar: We have tried to get in players who are going to bat certain way. But you need experience as well and these guys are picked as they are around for quite some time now. Surya is no.1 T20 player.

Rohit: It was eventually between Axar and Ashwin. Axar has been in really good form and he's been bowling well in the format. He has done well for India. He gives us that left-handed option. Of course a very experienced and is playing for a long time now.

Rohit: 5 tarikh ko match hai...Abhi bol ke kya karunga. Abhi combination kyun jaanna hai aapko.

He knows how to bowl. Unfortunately, he hasn't bowled a single over in IPL. But he will bowl if needed.

Same with Hardik. There is no fitness issue with him either. He has been bowling in IPL. All-rounders have been doing their job and will be expected to do so.

Agarkar: No concerns at all regading to Kohli's strike-rate. We haven't been discussing at all (Rohit Sharma smiles when asked about his place in question)

Rohit: Kuldeep and Chahal may together. Anything is possible

I definitely wanted four spinners. We have played a lot of cricket in West Indies. We know the conditions and the match starts at 10-10.30 in morning. There is little bit of technical aspect involved in this. I am not going to tell the reason in public now.

Agarkar: It's not his fault that he missed out. It is very unfortunate that he has missed out. He is one of the travelling subs that's how close he was!!

AgarkarNothing discussed regards to vice-captaincy. He has come after long layoff. He has gotten through all games so far MI. We have more than a month before first game. We know what he brings and how much balance he lends to the team. Fortunately, he has gone OK in this IPL

I don't know how the pitches will be in USA. We have never played in New York. So all the options we are keeping open. One thing we really looked at was our middle-overs hitting. We wanted someone in the middle overs for some one to come and play a role. We picked a guy Shivam Dube based on what he has done in IPL. Again, there is no guarantee what our playing XI looks like.

The talk of what our 15 is going to be like started before IPL itself. It is not like selected players are new to the format. All have been playing international cricket for long time and now they've been playing IPL.

We were pretty clear in our thinking right before IPL, says Agarkar

We prioritised formats. If 50-over World Cup was coming up, we were missing T20. Same was followed ahead of the T20 World Cup, says Rohit. This was discussed at the selection committee group when Ajit was not part of the group.

We needed a player in the middle. KL is batting at top. Sanju has done well and even Rishabh Pant is batting top 5. It's not about who is better and who is not. But Pant and Sanju spent more time batting in the latter stage.

Rohit: It has been a great experience to lead India. I am honoured. Nothing new to me.

Finally press conference has started

There is still no update on the delay!! Stay tuned...Press conference can start anytime soon

Press conference continues to be delayed. There is no update on when it will happen too. It should start soon with Rohit also arriving a few minutes ago.

Rohit Sharma reaches BCCI HQ in Mumbai

Less than a minute to go now!!!

15 minutes to go for the press conference!!! What will be Rohit Sharma's response to some huge questions? 

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has reached BCCI HQ in Mumbai for the press conference.

The press conference will now commence at 4:30 PM IST!! Stay tuned...only 20 minutes to go!!

In the latest update, the press conference has been delayed by a few minutes and it will start soon.

Less thasn 20 minutes to go!! Here's India squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), 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.

Reserves – Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan

India's T20 World Cup squad press conference will be live on Star Sports from 3:45 PM IST. It is expected to get underway at 4 PM IST.

Coming back to the much-awaited press conference, 60 minutes are left. Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar will reach BCCI HQ in Mumbai soon.

Barring Jasprit Bumrah, neither Arshdeep Singh nor Mohammed Siraj have had the best of IPL 2024. Will Arshdeep and Siraj manage to turn things around during the T20 World Cup?

The selectors have picked both Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant in the provisional squad. While Rishabh has scored 398 runs in 11 games in the ongoing IPL season, Sanju has amassed 385 runs in just nine outings. Who will make it to the playing XI sheet?

Virat Kohli has a strike rate of 155.91 opening the innings for India in T20Is and averages a staggering 82.51. His T20I career strike rate is 138.15 and his overall average is 51.75. Hence, it is tempting to send Virat at the top with Rohit but will the Indian team management take the punt?

Despite his strike rate of 176.23 and an average of 89.00, the selectors decided to leave Rinku out of the squad. While many suggest that the lack of outings in IPL 2024 cost him a place in the team, others feel that he was highly unfortunate. Stay tuned for Ajit Agarkar's statement on Rinku's snub.

Aiden Markram is set to lead South Africa in T20 World Cup. Can he lead them to the trophy?

England also announced their squad a couple of days ago!! Will they be able to defend the title?

India's batters have not had a great outing after T20 World Cup announcement:

Indian batters Scores

Rohit 4 (5)
Surya 10 (6)
Hardik 0 (1)
Dube 0 (1)
Jadeja 2 (4)

The 15-member India squad for the T20 World Cup wears a strong look but the men in blue will have quite a few challenges before finalising their playing XI.

Click on THIS link to know more

For the unversed, here's India's squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), 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.

Reserves – Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan

Hello and a very welcome to India TV!!

India's squad for the T20 World Cup was announced a couple of days ago. But the captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar will attend the press conference regarding the announcement today in Mumbai at the BCCI Headquarters. Rinku Singh's non-selection, Kohli as opener, Bishnoi not getting picked, Dube ahead of Rinku, Hardik Pandya's fitness and form. A lot of burning questions are waiting the captain and chief selector and the press conference will commence at 4 PM. Stay tuned for all the latest updates related to the presser as I, Aditya, will bring you all the quotes from Rohit and Agarkar both here.