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Xtra Time Web Desk: Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar omits Virat Kohli from his Indian squad for the T20 World Cup. Manjrekar picked Sanju Samson over Kohli in his 15-man squad and preferred him over Kohli for the No. 3 position in the line-up. The ICC Men's T20 World Cup will begin from June 1, and will be co-hosted by the USA and West Indies.

The Indian selection committee will meet in a couple of days to decide India's squad for the upcoming marquee tournament. IPL 2024 is also being seen as an audition for the players to book their tickets for the T20 World Cup. However, it seems like Kohli could not make a cut for Manjrekar's squad despite being the current Orange Cap holder.

Read More: IPL 2024: Twitter floods with memes after Virat’s sluggish innings, watch here

"It's very tough because there are quite a few good and quality players around, especially after the IPL, where you get too many options. But let me make an effort. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal the opening pair," Manjrekar said before dropping the Kohli omissions bomb.

The No. 3 position was given to Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan Royals captain, who has been in good nick in the ongoing IPL 2024, scoring almost 400 runs from eight matches, in Kohli's place in India's line-up of Manjrekar. Then the usual line up follow, with Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4 and Rishabh Pant at 5. He then chose KL Rahul as a second back-up wicketkeeper, leaving no space for the budding talent Rinku Singh either. Instead, Manjrekar went ahead with just one all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja. He reunited the 'Kul-Cha' pair of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal to make it spinning trio for India's T20 World Cup squad, following this he went on to select five pacers.

Sanjay Manjrekar's Indian squad for T20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Krunal Pandya.

DID KOHLI’S DRY RUN IN IPL GOT HIM EXCLUDED FROM THE SQUAD?

In a surprising turn of events, both Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya found themselves omitted from the team. Kohli, despite his impressive run tally for RCB, faced criticism for his strike rate. Although he amassed 430 runs in 9 matches, recent performances, especially a slow innings against SRH and a sluggish century against RR, raised eyebrows.

Read More: IPL 2024: Virat under scrutiny yet again for his sluggish innings, watch video

HARDIK PANDYA OMITTED TOO!  

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya's exclusion came amidst concerns about his form. With only 151 runs in 8 matches and an economy rate of 10.94 with just 4 wickets, his contributions for MI have been below par. Manjrekar opted for Krunal Pandya, Hardik's brother, as a backup for Ravindra Jadeja, further adding to the intrigue surrounding their omissions.