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Preview: Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar, with his fast leg-breaks, will fight it out for the additional tweaker’s slot when the selectors pick the Indian squad for next month’s ICC T20 World Cup in the coming couple of days. It is expected that the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee will meet at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai and link up with skipper Virat Kohli in Manchester and coach Ravi Shastri in London either on Tuesday or more likely on Wednesday. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah (convenor of the selection committee) are also expected to be a part of the most important selection by the committee. While most of the teams are announcing 15-member squads, the BCCI is expected to announce either an 18 or 20 member squad as the ICC will allow a squad strength of 30, instead of 23 in earlier editions, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The number is inclusive of the support staff. [caption id=“attachment_8680331” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of the T20 World Cup trophy. AFP[/caption] Any team can have more than 30-member squads but the extra cost is supposed to be borne by the country’s cricket board. The Indian white-ball team will have at least 13 to 15 members, who are automatic selections but there are a few spots for which there would be some discussions. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja are two spinners who are all but sure of their slots and it could well be a toss-up between Chakravarthy, who has had good IPL runs and Rahul, who impressed in the recent tour of Sri Lanka. With Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul both capable of donning the big gloves, Ishan Kishan, with some good performances for India in the recent tour of Sri Lanka, is expected to pip the highly-rated-but-under-performing Sanju Samson. With Hardik Pandya not bowling his full quota of four overs, Shardul Thakur might be required after his newfound batting prowess. Suryakumar Yadav can be called a certainty while Shreyas Iyer will get his rightful place back in the squad. For the extra opener’s slot after Rohit Sharma and Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, with good back-to-back IPLs, and an in-form Prithvi Shaw will be locking horns. But in the case of a 20 member squad, both might get a look-in. In the fast bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami (if fully fit) are automatic selections but Deepak Chahar and the red-hot Mohammed Siraj are also in contention. Washington Sundar’’s injury, which has ruled him out of IPL, also means that if he is picked, it will be without any match practice. Among left-arm pacers, Chetan Sakariya and T Natarajan are there but the latter has hardly played anything while the former may accompany the the team as a net bowler. With inputs from PTI.
ICC T20 World Cup 2021 India Squad Announcement Highlights: R Ashwin in squad, MS Dhoni to be team's mentor
T20 World Cup: ICC T20 World Cup 2021 India Squad The BCCI is all set to make announcement, Who Will Make The Cut, at 9 PM today; follow live updates at Firstpost
 "ICC T20 World Cup 2021 India Squad Announcement Highlights: R Ashwin in squad, MS Dhoni to be team's mentor")
That’s it from us folks!
Alright then, the India squad has raised a few eyebrows with the exclusion of Yuzvendra Chahal and Shikhar Dhawan, but the inclusion of MS Dhoni as team mentor seems to have gone down quite well. In just about a month, we’ll have plenty of T20 World Cup action for you, and before that, we’ll be bringing you all the latest updates from the INDvENG series, the IPL and everything else from the world of cricket. So until we meet again, goodbye and goodnight!
Overall, everyone seems quite okay with the India squad
I would have included T Natarajan in my squad in place of Axar/Shami. May be one less bowler for an extra batter, but looks like a good squad.
— Ujwal (@UjwalKS) September 8, 2021
Standby players – Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.#TeamIndia
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 8, 2021
MS Dhoni to be India’s mentor during tournament!
The former India captain will be a part of the support setup for the Indian team and will play a role of mentor to the squad.
India’s T20 World Cup squad:
Kohli (C), 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, Mohd Shami.
The Likely Squad as per PTI:
Certainties (14): Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Buvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur
Extra Opener: Shikhar Dhawan/Prithvi Shaw
Reserve keeper: Ishan Kishan/Sanju Samson
Extra Spinner: Varun Chakravarthy/Rahul Chahar
Left-arm pacer: Chetan Sakariya/T Natarajan
Subject to Fitness: Washington Sundar.
Cover for Jadeja: Axar Patel/Krunal Pandya
The pace department
There is competition in the pace department as well. Jasprit Bumrah picks himself. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s experience will help him get into the squad. India might look to go in with two more pacers. Will Shami get into the squad or will India go with Shardul Thakur or Deepak Chahar who can bat as well? There is T Natarajan and Chetan Sakariya also who give the left-arm dimension.
Shreyas Iyer might be back
Shreyas Iyer might be included in the squad despite missing most of the international action that’s happened in recent months. He injured his shoulder during England ODIs at home back in March and he hasn’t played any cricket since then.
Extra opener’s slot
There’s competition for the extra opener’s slot. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are the first choice openers. There’s Virat Kohli as well who can open and he’s said in the past that he might consider opening the batting in T20s to bring the balance in the side. So it might come down to Shikhar Dhawan vs Prithvi Shaw for the extra opener’s slot. Shikhar Dhawan hasn’t done much wrong. In the last couple of years, he’s upped his strike rate as well. Prithvi Shaw has come back strong after being dropped from the Test series in Australia. Before IPL 2021 got suspended, Dhawan was the highest run-getter in the tournament with 380 runs from 8 innings, averaging 54.28 with a strike rate of 134.27. Shaw was the fourth highest run getter with 308 runs from 8 innings at 38.50, with a strike rate of 166.48. What might turn the balance in Dhawan’s favour is the fact that he brings in the left-right combination factor as well as the experience of playing and doing well in ICC tournaments. But in case India look to take a 20-member squad, both might be included.
The wicket-keeper battle
There will be competition for the reserve keeper’s slot as well. With Rishabh Pant a certainty along with KL Rahul who can also keep, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson will have to fight it out for the reserve keeper’s slot. Samson’s talent has long been talked about but he hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations. He’s blown hot and cold in his career so far. Ishan Kishan has risen up the ranks in the last few years. And played a crucial role in Mumbai Indians’ success. And he brings versatility with him as well as he can bat as an opener as well as in the middle order. Both players are aggressive with plenty of flamboyance. Kishan had a blistering start to his international career hitting a fifty on debut against England. There is very little to choose between the two and it could be a toss of a coin that decides who books the flight to the UAE.
Oh, and yes, this is the first T20 World Cup that India will be without MS Dhoni! He lifted the trophy for India in the inaugural edition.
Right, back to India’s selection. Which spinners will make the cut?
Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja look set to be the two certainties in the spin department. India have to take a call on whether they want to take a pure spinner in Rahul Chahar/ Varun Chakravarthy for the extra spinner’s slot or all-rounders in Washington Sundar/Krunal Pandya?
New Zealand T20 World Cup squad:
New Zealand announced their T20 World Cup squad pretty early. They left out Ross Taylor and Colin de Grandhomme while included leg spinner Todd Astle. Pacer Adam Milne who’s been doing really well in the shortest format was named as a stand by.
NZ Squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.
Meanwhile, India have reached Manchester. It’s going to be a fascinating finale to the series.
Hello, Old Trafford 👋. Our final stop 📌#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/PUIyxFOPpV
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 8, 2021
Sunil Gavaskar’s T20 World Cup squad
Recently, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar picked up his 15-man T20 World Cup squad on Sports Tak and he has left out Dhawan and Iyer.
Gavaskar’s squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar (if fit), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Pakistan T20 World Cup squad: India will take on Pakistan in their opening clash. A blockbuster one. A couple of days ago Pakistan announced their T20 World Cup squad here’s how they line-up.
The Squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Azam Khan, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood.
Travelling reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.
Here’s India’s schedule for the Super 12s stage
24 Oct: India v Pakistan in Dubai
31 Oct: India v New Zealand in Dubai
3 Nov: India v Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi
5 Nov: India v Qualifier B1 in Dubai
8 Nov: India v Qualifier A2 in Dubai
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the T20 World Cup squad announcement!
It’s a big day for Indian cricket, because later on today, the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup will be announced to the world. With several promising players having emerged on the Indian cricketing scene in recent years, there’s an incredible wealth of options for selectors to choose from, and there are bound to be a couple of excellent cricketers who will miss out. Stay tuned as we bring you latest updates throughout the evening!
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