India squad for T20 World Cup announced; Ashwin returns, Dhawan left out

The Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) has announced the India squad for the T20 World Cup. Suryakumar Yadav, who has been very impressive for India in the limited opportunities he has got, has been included in the team. Meanwhile, another contender for the middle order, Shreyas Iyer, who’s not played since injuring his shoulder in the ODI series against England, has been left out.

However, Iyer along with Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar has been named as standby players. There were a lot of speculations about the Indian opening pair and the board has decided to select only two genuine openers in the form of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, leaving out veteran batsman Shikhar Dhawan. Hardik Pandya also makes a return to the team.

India have gone with a heavy spin attack and brought back veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Along with Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy have also been named in the squad. Meanwhile, out of form duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal has been ignored for the showpiece event.

India had an option to select one of Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson as the backup wicket-keeper and the selectors went in with the former. Samson had an opportunity to make a case for himself but poor outings in Sri Lanka didn’t help his cause. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be the three fast bowlers. Also, former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will join the team as a mentor for the T20 World Cup.

India’s squad for T20 World Cup- Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.

Standby Players– Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.

Team India’s complete schedule ICC T20 World Cup 2021:

24th October 2021: India vs Pakistan, 7:30 PM IST, Dubai

31st October 2021: India vs New Zealand, 7:30 PM IST, Dubai

3rd November 2021: India vs Afghanistan, 7:30 PM IST, Abu Dhabi

5th November 2021: India vs B1 (qualified team), 7:30 PM IST, Dubai

8th November 2021: India vs A2 (qualified team), 7:30 PM IST, Dubai