India's T20 World Cup 2021 Jersey Displayed At Burj Khalifa

India’s newly launched ‘Billion Cheers Jersey’, which the players will be donning at the upcoming T20 World Cup, was displayed at the iconic Burj Khalifa on Wednesday, hours after the BCCI had unveiled it in the morning.

The image of the jersey and the Indian players sparkled in the evening lights on the Burj Khalifa, which is the world’s tallest building standing 830 metres in height. The patterns on the jersey are inspired by the billion cheers of the fans, the BCCI said while announcing the launch of the new jersey.

See the images below:

Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in India’s 15-man squad

Another major announcement made by the BCCI on Wednesday was that Shardul Thakur was added to India‘s 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup 2021.

Thakur, who was earlier part of the standby players, replaces spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel in the main squad; Patel has been swapped with Thakur as a travelling reserve along with Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer.

While Patel has been impressive with the ball in IPL 2021 for Delhi Capitals and hasn’t done much wrong, Shardul Thakur’s inclusion comes in for the fact that Hardik Pandya didn’t bowl a single ball in the IPL. The BCCI, though, didn’t reveal any reason for this change.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee after a discussion with the team management has added Shardul Thakur to the main squad. All-rounder Axar Patel, who was part of the 15-member squad will now be on the list of stand-by players,” the BCCI said in a released statement.

The Chennai Super Kings cricketer has taken 18 wickets, at an economy of 8.76, in the ongoing season, with the final left to play, and has shown his ability with the bat in Test cricket. Pandya, on the other hand, had a forgettable season with the bat, and didn’t bowl at all for Mumbai Indians.

Also, eight other players – Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and K. Gowtham – have been asked to stay back with the national side after the conclusion of the IPL to assist the main squad players in preparation for the mega-event.

India take on Pakistan in their opening encounter on October 24 in Dubai. They will then meet New Zealand, Afghanistan, and two other teams who will qualify from Round 1 in the Super 12 stage.

Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021: India Probably Will Be Favourites – David Gower