T20 World Cup: Shardul Thakur makes it to main squad, Axar Patel on stand by

All-rounder Shardul Thakur was Wednesday included in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup that starts in the UAE and Oman from October 17. The 29-year-old has taken 18 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 for Chennai Super Kings. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said Shardul was added to the main squad by all-India Senior Selection Committee with inputs from the team management.

“All-rounder Axar Patel, who was part of the 15-member squad will now be on the list of stand-by players,” Shah said in a statement.

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India’s ace all-rounder Hardik Pandya has not bowled for the Mumbai Indians during the IPL as he is still recovering from a back surgery. Considering this, the selectors wanted a cover for Pandya.

“The selectors felt that they were one pacer short and also with Hardik Pandya not bowling, they needed an all-rounder in the main squad,” a source close to the selection committee told news agency PTI.

There are chances that Axar will again be back in the team if Ravindra Jadeja gets injured, PTI reported. The selectors have also included Harshal Patel among the net bowlers for the Indian team.

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“The following cricketers will join the team bubble in Dubai and assist Team India in their preparations: Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and K. Gowtham,” the statement said.

India will open their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign on October 24 against archrivals Pakistan.

Virat Kohli will captain India’s squad for ICC T20 World Cup. Other members include Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami.

Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, and Axar Patel are the stand-by players.