Just IN: Shardul Thakur Replaces Axar Patel In India's 15-Man Squad For T20 World Cup 2021

Shardul Thakur has been added to India‘s 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021, the BCCI announced on Wednesday.

Shardul Thakur, who was earlier part of the standby players, replaces spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel in the main squad; Patel has been pushed to the list of the three travelling reserves, the other two being 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 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.

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.

8 players to join Team India bubble to help them in preparation

The BCCI selectors also named eight players who will join the team bubble in Dubai and assist Team India in their preparations during the tournament.

Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and K. Gowtham are the ones who have been asked to stay back with the national side after the conclusion of the IPL.

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

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