'A T20 World Cup is coming': Title-winning former captain's urgent warning for Hardik Pandya and Yashasvi Jaiswal

The 2024 Indian Premier League's (IPL) league phase is getting to that stage when the race for the top four heats up. Teams that haven't made the greatest of starts to the tournament start feeling the bite and among those this season are five-time champions Mumbai Indians, whose new captain Hardik Pandya's struggle to find acceptance among fans in his role seems to have seeped into his on-field performances.

At the other end of the spectrum are Rajasthan Royals, who are sitting pretty at the top of the table going into their Monday fixture against MI with a bowling lineup that is firing on all cylinders and a batting lineup that is doing just as well. And yet, a puzzling case in the RR lineup has been that of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hasn't been able to find runs this season despite coming into it on the back of a great year in all formats. Former Australia captain Aaron Finch has said that both Jaiswal and Pandya would need to step up not just for their franchises but for their place in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup that comes closely on the heels of the 2024 IPL.

“I have got my eye on two people, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Hardik Pandya. Two guys who haven't been in the best form throughout this IPL so far and there is a bit of pressure building on both of them,” Finch, who led Australia to the T20 World Cup title in 2021, said on Star Sports.

The 2024 T20 World Cup The 2024 T20 World Cup is set to begin on June 1, with India playing their first game on June 6 and the cutoff for the announcement of squads for the tournament is May 1. “There is a T20 World Cup coming up very soon. They will want to be in great form to get picked and then if they are there, to contribute to India having a real crack at trying to win another T20 World Cup,” said Finch.