BCCI announce India squad for T20 World Cup; Ashwin return, Dhawan left out

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced the squad for the T20 World Cup. Suryakumar Yadav has been rewarded for his impressive outings in the limited opportunities for India and has been drafted into the 15-man squad.

Advertisment

Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, who has been out of action since May due to a shoulder injury, has been left out of the squad. However, he along with Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur has been kept as standby players. Veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan has also failed to make it to the squad. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul are the two genuine openers India have gone in with. If required, Virat Kohli can also open alongside Rohit Sharma.

Also, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been included as the first choice spinner alongside Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy, while the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal has been dropped from the squad.

Ishan Kishan will be the backup wicket-keeper while Hardik Pandya has also made a return to the squad. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will comprise the pace attack. Also, in another massive development, former Indian skipper MS Dhoni will join the team as a mentor for the showpiece event.

Advertisment

India start their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24th in Dubai. The 'Men in Blue' are clubbed with Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and two other qualifying teams.

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.

Advertisment

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