Saba Karim Picks His 15-Man India Squad For T20 World Cup; Omits Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan
Published - 01 Aug 2021, 12:45 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:50 AM
Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim has named his 15-man India squad for the T20 World Cup later this year in the UAE, and he has dropped a few big names from the squad in favour of youngsters.
Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, and Mohammed Shami don’t find a place in Saba Karim’s squad. Instead, the 53-year-old has opted for Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, and T Natarajan to support Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the bowling department.
He cited the players he had dropped and included are based on the home T20I series against England, which, he feels, the selectors should also focus on while picking the final squad.
“The team that was chosen by the selectors for the series against England, there were around 17 players there, I have started choosing my team from there. The players who performed well there and have not got an opportunity on the Sri Lanka tour because they were in England, you don’t have any excuse to keep them out,” Saba Karim said while speaking on India News.
“There should be consistency in selection. Because of that, I have kept Washington Sundar in my team. I feel that with the matches happening in the UAE, you will need an off-spinner there and he is kind of an all-rounder.”
“Along with him, I have kept Rahul Chahar because I feel he is an attacking bowler, a wicket-taking bowler, a match-winner. And I am still keeping Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the team because I feel his form is coming back and he will be very essential for the Indian team,” he added.
I have kept Shreyas Iyer: Saba Karim
Saba Karim, who had previously been part of the national selection committee, roped in Shreyas Iyer in his squad, alongside Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav as middle-order options. Iyer missed the first half of the IPL 2021 and the Sri Lanka tour due to a shoulder injury. He is expected to be back for the UAE leg of the IPL and make his case for a place in the World Cup squad.
“I have kept Shreyas Iyer because he was also in the team which had played against England and his performance was quite good there. He couldn’t play the IPL this year but his performance in the IPL was quite good last year. So, there has to be a basis to keep him out of the team,” the former cricketer reckoned.
India have been drawn with Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and two qualifier teams in Group 2 for the mega event which will kick start on October 17.
Saba Karim’s India squad for the T20 World Cup:
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
