T20 World Cup 2021: 8 Players Including Harshal Patel, Venkatesh Iyer To Assist Indian Squad

Eight Indian players with the ranks of their performance in IPL 2021 will be staying back with the Indian cricket team in UAE to help them to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced that eight players will be with the Virat Kohli-led team India to assist them in their preparations during the mega event.

“The following cricketers will join the team bubble in Dubai and assist Team India in their preparations: Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and K. Gowtham,” BCCI said in its statement released on its official website. 

Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan lead IPL 2021 bowling charts

Earlier it was announced that Avesh Khan and Umran Malik will join the Indian team as net bowlers for the T20 World Cup to be held between October 23-November 14.

With 32 wickets from 15 matches, Harshal Patel is currently the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2021, although his team Royal Challengers Bangalore has been knocked out of the tournament.

Delhi Capitals pacer Avesh Khan is second on the list with 23 wickets and it is a very tough job for him to surpass Harshal’s tally even if plays two more matches in the remaining part of the tournament.

Umran Malik, who hails from Srinagar, has impressed everyone with his high bowling speeds. The 21-year-old Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler clocked more than 150kph on few occasions in the three games he played in the final stage of league matches.

Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in India’s preliminary squad

On September 9, BCCI had announced a 15-member preliminary squad led by Indian skipper Virat Kohli which included spin bowlers Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel and had only three pace bowlers.

As Hardik Pandya remains uncertain to bowl, the BCCI named Shardul Thakur, who was earlier listed as a stand-by player, as a replacement for Axar Patel. Patel joins Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar as India’s three reserved players in the squad for T20 World Cup.

“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 statement read. 

India will play their opening game against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021 : It Won’t Be A Surprise If Shardul Thakur Comes In For Hardik Pandya: Aakash Chopra