World Cup: Team India

The T20 World Cup 2024 is all set to commence from 1st June 2024 and will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA. With a total of 20 teams fighting for the ultimate prize, it will be an interesting tournament for all the cricket fans out there. Just like this, the Indian fans will be supporting the team that won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 and were crowned the Champions of the T20 Format for the first time under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Now, after 17 years, the Indian team will be looking to lift their second T20 World Cup trophy under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.

India’s T20 World Cup Journey over the years

Since the start of the T20 World Cup in 2007, the Indian team has been a part of the tournament 8 times and has been the winner only once. Besides this, they were the runner-up in the 2014 T20 World Cup and qualified for the Semi-Finals in 2016 and the 2022 T20 World Cup.

T20 World Cup Year	Position in the Tournament	India’s Captain
2007 T20 World Cup	Champions	MS Dhoni
2009 T20 World Cup	Super-8	MS Dhoni
2010 T20 World Cup	Super-8	MS Dhoni
2012 T20 World Cup	Super-8	MS Dhoni
2014 T20 World Cup	Runners-up	MS Dhoni
2016 T20 World Cup	Semi-Finals	MS Dhoni
2021 T20 World Cup	League-Stage	Virat Kohli
2022 T20 World Cup	Semi-Finals	Rohit Sharma

2007 T20 World Cup

In the T20 World Cup 2007, the Indian team entered the tournament as complete underdogs because they were coming after losing the 2007 ODI World Cup and hence the team was completely changed. MS Dhoni was awarded the captaincy and was given a young team. India's T20 World Cup journey began with a washed-out match against Scotland. Their next clash with Pakistan ended in a thrilling tie, decided by a Bowl-Out that India won 3-0. After a loss to New Zealand, India won three consecutive games, including the semi-final against Australia. They clinched their maiden T20 World Cup title by defeating Pakistan by five runs in a tense final.

2009 T20 World Cup

With the tag of defending champions for the 2009 T20 World Cup, the expectations were high for the Indian team for the tournament. Despite starting their campaign with a solid 25-run victory over Bangladesh, India's fortunes quickly turned as they suffered three consecutive losses to the West Indies, England, and South Africa. These defeats dashed their hopes of reaching the semi-finals. A close three-run loss to England in the Super Eight round at Lord's confirmed their exit from the tournament. Consequently, with India out of the running, Pakistan seized the opportunity and emerged as the new T20 World Cup champion.

2010 T20 World Cup

Just like the 2009 T20 World Cup, India again went into the 2010 T20 World Cup with high expectations as the pitches being slow and steady would have suited the players. The team even went on to win their first two matches against Afghanistan and South Africa, but eventually failed to get the best out of the players in the Super-8 where they lost three consecutive matches against the likes of Australia, West Indies, and the Sri Lankan team. It was the second time that India failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the T20 World Cup under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

2012 T20 World Cup

After winning just 1 out of the last 3 T20 World Cups, the Indian team again got a chance in 2012 which was held in Sri Lanka and had similar conditions as that of India. The team started the tournament with big wins against Afghanistan and England which helped them to reach the Super-8 of the World Cup. With three matches against Australia, Pakistan, and South Africa, the Indian team was able to win 2, but the Net Run Rate being poor allowed the other team to qualify for the tournament's Semi-Finals.

2014 T20 World Cup

The 2014 T20 World Cup came out as a dream tournament for the Indian team as they were dominant throughout the League stages. With 4 straight wins over West Indies, Pakistan, Australia, and Bangladesh, the team qualified for the Semi-Finals where they defeated the South African team by 6 wickets. However, in the Finals, the team faced a setback as Sri Lanka came out as the superior team and hence defeated India by 6 wickets to lift the T20 World Cup trophy.

2016 T20 World Cup

With a heartbreak in the 2014 T20 World Cup, the 2016 T20 World Cup was the best chance for the team to win the title as it was happening in India only. India started off with a 47-run loss against New Zealand but managed to take up wins against teams such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Australia to seal a place in the Semi-Finals. But in the big match, the West Indies team came out on top as they chased down a target of 193 runs to knock India out of the tournament.

2021 T20 World Cup

One of the worst ICC tournaments for the Indian team, the 2021 T20 World Cup was a nightmare for the team as they failed to make it to the Semi-Finals for the first time after the 2012 T20 World Cup. With consecutive losses against Pakistan and New Zealand, the Indian team managed to win their remaining 3 matches but were already out of the tournament, and under Virat Kohli, the team failed to make it big in the World Cup.

2022 T20 World Cup

For the 2022 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma was made the captain of the team and they started the tournament with a brilliant win against Pakistan. In the next 4 matches, the team defeated Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Netherlands but lost to South Africa and finished in the first position in the points table. However, against England in the Semi-Finals, a 10-wicket loss ended their campaign and the team again faced a setback in the T20 World Cup.

Indian team for the 2024 T20 World Cup

For the 9th edition of the T20 World Cup, the Indian team looks all set to take up the challenge from their opponents. Rohit Sharma will be leading the Indian team again after the 2022 T20 World Cup and on 30th April 2024, the BCCI announced their 15-man squad along with the 4 travelling reserves.

Name of the Player	Role of the Player
Rohit Sharma (C)	Batsman
Hardik Pandya (Vc)	Batting All-Rounder
Yashasvi Jaiswal	Batsman
Virat Kohli	Batsman
Suryakumar Yadav	Batsman
Rishabh Pant	Wicket-Keeper/Batsman
Sanju Samson	Wicket-Keeper/Batsman
Shivam Dube	Batting All-Rounder
Ravindra Jadeja	Bowling All-Rounder
Axar Patel	Bowling All-Rounder
Kuldeep Yadav	Bowler
Yuzvendra Chahal	Bowler
Arshdeep Singh	Bowler
Jasprit Bumrah	Bowler
Mohammed Siraj	Bowler
Travelling Reserves
Shubman Gill	Bowler
Rinku Singh	Bowler
Avesh Khan	Bowler
Khaleel Ahmed	Bowler

For the League matches of the T20 World Cup 2024, the Indian team has been kept in Group A with 4 other teams such as Ireland, Pakistan, Canada, and the United States of America. The team will be playing its first match against Ireland on the 5th of June and then against Pakistan on the 9th of June. Against the USA, the team will be up on 12th June while against Canada, 15th June has been scheduled as the perfect date.

Players to Watch Out in the Indian Team

All 15 players on the Indian team are gearing up for the T20 World Cup with a single objective: winning the trophy. Among them, a few stand out and will draw significant attention due to their exceptional ability to handle pressure and other key skills.

1. Virat Kohli: The best batsman of the Indian team and the player who has won 2 Player of the Tournament awards in the T20 World Cups 2014 and 2016, Virat Kohli will again be the go-to man in difficult situations for the team. In 27 matches of the T20 World Cups he played, he got 1141 runs at an average of 81.50 and a strike rate of 131.30.
2. Rohit Sharma: India’s second-best batsman in the T20 Format, Rohit Sharma will be leading the Indian team and will be looking to lift his first ICC Trophy as the captain of the Indian team. Being a part of the winning team in the T20 World 2007, Rohit Sharma has smashed 963 runs from the 39 innings played while having an average of 34.39 for the team.
3. Jasprit Bumrah:For the Indian team, Jasprit Bumrah's form will be crucial if they are looking to win the title. From the last 10 matches played by him in the tournament, he has picked 11 wickets while averaging 22.54 with the ball and an economy rate of 6.41.
4. Hardik Pandya:Current vice-captain of the Indian team and one of the most trusted all-rounders, Hardik Pandya will be a special force in the batting and bowling department of the team. As a batter, he has scored 213 runs from the 16 innings played and has a strike rate of 136.53 while amongst the bowlers, he has got 13 wickets for the team.