India T20 WC Squad: Mohammad Shami standy in T20 WC: The Indian team for the T20 World Cup was announced on Monday. The Rohit Sharma led team does not have any big surprise in the squad for Australia. However, they have included Mohammed Shami as one of the four stand bye players in the Indian team. Follow India T20 World Cup squad updates with InsideSport.IN
Besides the experienced pacer, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Chahar have also been included in the 19-member squad.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Standby players: Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar
Shami has also been included in the India squad for the Australia and South Africa squad. The T20 series starts on September 20 against Australia in Mohali.
Shami’s name would not have even cropped up in the team’s selection, but a below par show by India in Asia Cup has forced the situation. As a result, the voices for his inclusion had only multiplied in the last fortnight. Ravi Shastri, Anshuman Gaekwad, Saba Karim and a host number of former players belong in that list.
But, the final call was with the selectors and the team management. Even naming him as the stand bye means it is a change in stance by the selectors. Shami had not been picked in the Indian T20 team for almost a year.
Selectors to meet in Mumbai to pick the squad for T20 World Cup and home series against Australia & SA. Will Mohammed Shami be back in T20 format? Bumrah & Harshal all set to pick themselves, Avesh Khan will struggle to make the squad. #BCCI
— Debasis Sen (@debasissen) September 12, 2022
It is his overall experience, which must have forced the selectors to pick him as one of the standbys. He has played 60 Tests, 82 ODIs and 17 T20 matches for India in a career, spanning nine years so far.
Why Shami brings to the table?
- The conditions in Australia suit his bowling
- India needs such experience in events like World Cup
- He is known to be a wicket taker for India
- He has the much needed experience
- He can be a dangerous bowler under light if he can get the ball to reverse
With the pitches in Australia, having Shami as an additional pacer makes sense. The bowler has knack of producing wickets, which is a strong requirement in the shorter format. Shami can be sharp, and can prove to be skiddy in Australian conditions.
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