T20 World Cup 2021: Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in Team India squad

The All-India Senior Selection Committee after a discussion with the team management has added Shardul Thakur to the main squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021. All-rounder Axar Patel, who was part of the 15-member Team India squad will now be on the list of stand-by players.

Thakur, who was earlier a standby player in the squad, has been added to the squad on the back of an impressive campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the UAE. The all-rounder has been one of the top players in IPL 2021 with 18 wickets so far from 15 games at 27.16 and a strike rate of 18.61.

Shardul’s contributions for the CSK have been instrumental in the team’s campaign this season as the MS Dhoni-led team has made it to the final and they will either face Delhi Capitals or Kolkata Knight Riders in the summit clash on October 15.

NEWS : Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in #TeamIndia’s World Cup squad. #T20WorldCup

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— BCCI (@BCCI) October 13, 2021

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
 
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.

India will open its T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. The 2007 champions will also face Afghanistan and New Zealand along with 2 qualifiers in Group 2.

Notably, after the upcoming T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli will be stepping down as the Team India captain in the shortest format.