The BCCI on Wednesday announced India’s 15-member squad for the ICC T20 World Cup, which will be played in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from October 17 to November 14. Virat Kohli will lead the Indian side with opener Rohit Sharma as his deputy. India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has also returned to the T20I side for the first time in over a year. Kohli, Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav, and KL Rahul will be part of the batting core, with Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan as the two wicket-keepers.
Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel have been named as all-rounders of the side. On the bowling front, Bumrah will spearhead the pace force, with Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the mix.
Experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has also found a place in the set-up. The 34-year-old Ashwin last played white-ball cricket for India in 2017. Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy have also been included in the spin-bowling unit. Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur have been named as standby players. Shikhar Dhawan-Prithvi Shaw duo and Yuzvendra Chahal, however, have failed to make the cut. Notably, former skipper MS Dhoni will also be mentoring the team in the marquee tournament.
