Digital Desk: Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel have recovered from the respective injuries and been included in India's star-studded T20 World Cup squad, which has been announced by the BCCI on Monday. The squad of 15 that will represent the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team in the ICC mega event, which begins October 16 in Australia, was decided upon during a selectors meeting on September 12 in the afternoon. The squad had been initially anticipated to be announced towards the end of this week. The four players who will be on standby are Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Shreyas Iyer, and Mohammed Shami.
Bumrah and
Harshal, both of whom had missed the Asia Cup due to a back and a side strain
respectively, are back to bolster the under-fire pace attack. The two had been
undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, and the
selectors, after a comprehensive examination determined that both pacers are
fit enough to feature for India in their effort to lift the T20 World Cup for a
second time. Bumrah and Harshal will also play in India's six-match T20I series
against Australia and South Africa, which gets underway on September 20. This
will give the squad a chance to fine-tune its lineups and obtain some
much-needed playing experience before flying to Australia.
Bumrah and Harshal coming back into
the fray means that Avesh Khan, who caught a sickness during the Asia Cup is
not in the reckoning. Partnering the two quicks in the pace department will be
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh, both of whom were in the heart of things
for India at the Asia Cup. Shami, who was unexpectedly called up given that he
hasn't participated in a T20 match for India since the World Cup, is also
joining the group.
Experts and commentators alike have
harshly criticised Shami's exclusion from India's Asia Cup team, but it appears
that the selectors are still considering him.
The room for experimentation is over
with India revealing a bumper squad. The middle order chooses for itself, with
Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya as the front-row candidates,
with captain Rohit opening with KL Rahul.
India's squad for T20 World Cup:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul
(vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant
(Wicketkeeper), Dinesh Karthik (Wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran
Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,
Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh
Continue Reading
