New Delhi: Indian Cricket team's star all-rounder Shardul Thakur has replaced Axar Patel in team India's 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Axar will now be on the list of stand-by players. The decision was taken on Wednesday by the Indian cricket team selection committee after discussion with the team management.
29-year-old Shardul Thakur garnered limelight and fame by playing a key role in India's win over Australia Down Under earlier this year. Even during India's tour of England, he made valuable contributions with bat and bowl when he got the opportunity. The young all-rounder has so far bagged 18 wickets from 15 matches in IPL 2021.
It seems the decision to include Shardul was made keeping in mind the uncertainty over Hardik Pandya's fitness and moreover whether he will bowl or not. As per the ICC rules, all teams ad to submit their final World Cup team before October 15.
India’s squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli (captain), 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
Stand-by players: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel
Players selected to assist Team India in their preparations for T20 World Cup: Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and K. Gowtham.