Finally, the wait is over! The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally announced the 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in Australia from October 16 to November 13. Much to everyone’s expectations, senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah is back in the side and so is T20 specialist Harshal Patel. The duo missed the recently concluded Asia Cup T20 tournament in the United Arab Emirates due to injury-related issues. But now, after finally recovering and clearing the fitness test as well at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, they have been roped back in.
Apart from the duo, senior pacer Mohammed Shami is also back in the side. The 32-year-old hasn’t played a single T20I match for India since he featured against Namibia in last year’s T20 World Cup, but on the back of his experience, he has been kept as a stand by player in the squad.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh retained their places in the team. As for the spin department, in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, who is out of the competition after suffering a knee injury, Axar Patel has been selected as a like-for-like replacement along with Yuzvendra Chahal. The likes of Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan, who were part of the team in the Asia Cup, missed out on the final 15.
As for batting, the team consists of four specialist batters – skipper Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav; two wicketkeepers in the form of Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik; and two all-rounders in Hardik Pandya and Deepak Hooda.
The batting unit for the T20 World Cup remains the same as that of the Asia Cup, and the only changes were made in the bowling department, keeping in mind the conditions on offer in Australia. In place of Bishnoi, Avesh and Ashwin, pacers Bumrah, Harshal got the nod and Axar, who replaced Jadeja mid-way in the Asia Cup, retained his spot.
As for reserves, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, and Shreyas Iyer have been selected.
The players who are selected for the T20 World Cup will get the chance to test their preparations in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Australia and South Africa.
India’s T20 World Cup squad:
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Y Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, B Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh
Standby players – Mohd. Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar
