T20 World Cup: 15-man India squad to be announced in 1st Week of Sep

T20 World Cup – Indian Squad for WC: The BCCI’s selection committee led by Chetan Sharma is all set to pick the squad in the 1^st week of September for the T20 World Cup in the UAE. While Virat Kohli’s Team India have already zeroed down on most of the players in the 15-member squad, there are a few names that will be deliberated in the meeting. However, for players like Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Krunal Pandya who hoped for a fine IPL 2021 Phase 2 show to bolster their chances of selection, they will be disappointed as the ICC has set September 10 deadline to finalise the squad.

T20 World Cup: Selectors to meet in 1st Week of Sep to select 15-member Indian team for WC, IPL performance in UAE to go for waste

T20 World Cup – Indian Squad for WC: As per information available with InsideSport, the squad will be announced by September 1st week and the IPL 2021 Phase 2 will have no impact on T20 World Cup selection. That creates a problem even for the selectors who wanted to watch the IPL and decide on the final squad.

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But the eyes will be on the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer who haven’t done much to impress selectors. If Shikhar Dhawan failed to capitalize on his chances in the Sri Lanka series, Shreyas Iyer has just recovered from his shoulder injury and is yet to play a competitive match, complicating his chances. For others like Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, IPL 2021 could have been the saviour but that won’t be the case anymore.

Players who are certain for the T20 World Cup

Virat Kohli (C)
Rohit Sharma (VC)
KL Rahul
Suryakumar Yadav
Rishabh Pant
Ravindra Jadeja
Hardik Pandya
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohd Shami
Mohd Siraj

Players in Contention

Shikhar Dhawan
Shreyas Iyer
Washington Sundar
Yuzvendra Chahal
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Ishan Kishan
Krunal Pandya / Washington Sundar / Axar Patel
Rahul Chahar / Varun Chakrawarthy
Deepak Chahar / Praseedh Krishna / Avesh Khan / Navdeep Saini / T.Natrajan

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Players who are hopeful of a place in the T20 World Cup squad:

Batsmen: Shreyas Iyer/Ishan Kishan/Shikhar Dhawan: The competition for two spots will be between Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. With Suryakumar Yadav in prime form and certain for the No 4 spot, it makes it difficult for Ishan Kishan to make it to the squad especially with Team India set to give Shreyas Iyer a go. As for Shikhar Dhawan, he is likely to make it as a backup opener considering his experience playing in big tournaments. That means, Ishan Kishan despite being a keeper will have to wait for his chances.

Spin all-rounders: Krunal Pandya/Washington Sundar/Axar Patel: Despite poor form, Hardik Pandya is certain to find a place as he is the only seam-allrounder option India currently have. That means, India will have to pick a spin-allrounder option and it’s between Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel. Washington Sundar would have been the best option but he is nursing an injury and will race against time to be fit after being sent back from England.

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For Krunal Pandya, he has earned it with an excellent bowling show in Sri Lanka in the ODIs but his batting form is a matter of concern and it will be a toss-up between him and Sundar. If Sundar recovers in time, he is sure to get a place while Krunal will have to miss out. As for Axar Patel, despite doing well in the Test, he hasn’t done much in the T20s and that will go against him.

Specialist spinner: Rahul Chahar/Varun Chakravarthy/Yuzvendra Chahal: Both Rahul Chahar and Yuzvendra Chahal presented an excellent case for themselves in Sri Lanka. If Chahal was the top-wicket taker in the ODIs, Chahar did well too. But in the WC squad, Yuzvendra Chahal will be the preferred choice with his return to form. As for Chahar, he will have to wait a bit longer. Varun Chakravarthy having made an unconvincing debut for India, will also need to wait.

Also Read in Hindi:

Seam-bowler: Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Deepak Chahar/Prasidh Krishna/Avesh Khan/Navdeep Saini: India’s long list of seam bowlers makes it difficult for selectors. But while Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a certain figure in India’s white-ball plans, his recent form is a concern. In Sri Lanka, he wasn’t impressive and not was he during Phase 1 of IPL 2021. But he still has the trust of Virat Kohli and will make it to the 15-member squad along with Deepak Chahar. The latter has impressed with his batting ability having played a match-winning knock of 69 against Sri Lanka. As for others in the fray such as Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Navdeep Saini, they are likely to miss out.

However, with ICC likely to allow additional players in the squad apart from the 15, selectors could end up picking a 20-member squad that will ease the pressure on them. While the number of additional members has not been set, BCCI is likely to take a 20-member squad. That will see the likes of Rahul Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan and either Prasidh Krishna or Navdeep Saini will get a call-up.

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