Ashwin, Bumrah, Harshal in India WC squad; Sanju misses out

India on Monday announced their team for the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia. The squad did not feature many surprises, as Rohit’s men went ahead with experience as its USP. However, the notable exclusions were pacer Avesh Khan and wicket-keeper batter, Sanju Samson. 

While Avesh did not enjoy a good campaign, the latter performed decently in the limited chances he got in Ireland and Zimbabwe series. He was unfortunate to miss the cut as India picked an extra pacer on the team. As a result, India went ahead with experienced off-spinner R Ashwin and medium pacer Harshal Patel. Meanwhile, premium pacer Jasprit Bumrah returned after a brief break because of an injury. Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are likely to share the new ball for the Indian team in the prestigious tournament. 

Meanwhile, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja missed the bus following an injured right knee. The MVP underwent surgery recently and in the present squad, Axar Patel is his like-for-like replacement.

No place for Sanju Samson in the India squad

India also named four standby players – pacers Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar, spinner Ravi Bishnoi and batter Shreyas Iyer. However, there was no inclusion of wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson, and several fans and experts view his attacking skills could have been useful in Aussie conditions. However, the team went ahead with Shreyas Iyer, who enjoys a good T20 record but struggles against the short ball.

India also picked Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant as two wicket-keepers on their side. The latter is not at his best form in T20Is and will have a point or two to prove in the upcoming series against Australia and South Africa. Meanwhile, the Rohit Sharma-led side will open its World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 23.

India squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.

Standby players –Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.