India squad for T20 World Cup 2021

The Indian team will be starting as one of the favorites to lift the T20 World Cup 2021 and to achieve that, the selectors have named a pretty decent squad. They have covered all the bases and with the IPL 2021’s second leg in the UAE, the players would have gotten used to the conditions by the time the tournament starts. 

The competition will mark an end to an era of sorts, with captain Virat Kohli stepping down from the T20I captaincy at the end of this event. Head coach Ravi Shastri, who also enjoyed a lot of success, will also come to an end of his contract and decided not to continue in this position. One of the bigger additions to this squad is MS Dhoni, who has been named as a mentor for just this tournament. 

Along with these three, Rohit Sharma makes up the leadership group of this Indian squad. Suryakumar Yadav has made it to the squad on the back of continuous performances for India and Mumbai Indians. There are three wicketkeeping options in Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan, with the former two likely to play in the starting XI. 

Spin-heavy India pick only three frontline pacers in the squad

To make up the balance of this team, India has Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya, who are favourites to start in the XI against Pakistan on October 24. India also has Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, making up a good combination in terms of all-rounders. And that brings us to the spin-bowling department. 

India has decided to go in with a spin-heavy attack, keeping in mind the conditions. Rahul Chahar has been picked in the first 15, ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal. However, the form reversal between the two in the second leg of the IPL 2021 has now sparked a debate if Chahar will retain his position come October 10. Varun Chakravarthy, though, seems to have emerged as India’s first-choice spinner with his quality outings with Kolkata Knight Riders. 

Despite having a huge arsenal of pacers, India has chosen only three in their squad. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar remain their top white-ball selections along with Mohammed Shami as a backup who is as world-class as it gets. Among the reserves, India has two more pacers, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur. Shreyas Iyer has also been named in the reserves, but with Kishan’s form dropping off in the IPL 2021, he may move to the final 15. 

Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, 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, Mohammad Shami 

Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur