According to the latest reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) still gets five additional days to make any changes in India\’s T20I World Cup Squad. The deadline was supposed to end on October 10. However, it was for the teams who were participating to get a place in the Super 12. All the teams have to submit their final squads a week before the starting of the tournament. Therefore, BCCI can now make any changes they want in team India\’s squad for the T20I World Cup till October 15.
Well, this is a sigh of relief for the BCCI as they would certainly be having second thoughts about some players. Especially after their performance in the second leg of the IPL. Also, there is still uncertainty on whether Hardik Pandya will be able to bowl or not. He hasn\’t delivered a single over in the second phase of the IPL. The selectors now reflect upon the performance of the players before making a final decision.
BCCI has to submit the final squad to ICC by October 15. The support period will end on the very date at midnight. When BCCI initially announced the squad for the T20I World Cup, several questions were made as it didn\’t include the players like Yuzvendra Chahal and Shikhar Dhawan. There is also a possibility that Shreyas Iyer Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar, who are standby players, might get included in the main squad after their performance in the IPL.
Will BCCI Drop Hardik Pandya?
According to the reports, BCCI would not make any changes in the team until and unless there are fitness concerns. However, Hardik Pandya was selected on the team as an all-rounder. But he hasn\’t bowled in the second phase of the IPL. Currently, it is not decided whether BCCI will drop Hardik Pandy from the T20I World Cup squad for not getting bowling ready or will keep him for his batting skills. The chances are good that one among Shardul Thakur or Deepak Chahar might replace Hardik Pandya in the main squad. The selectors might also ask Harshal Patel to stay in UAE. He performed brilliantly in the IPL and is a leading wicket-taker of the tournament.
Also, there were some talks about including Varun Chakravarthy in India\’s T20I World Cup squad. However, first, the medical team has to address the state of his knees, and if everything goes fine, then the mystery spinner might get a chance in the team.
ICC T20I World Cup will kick off on October 23. Team India will have its first match on October 24, and it will be against their long-time rivals Pakistan.
India\’s T20I World Cup Squad
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, Rahul Chahar, Axar Patel, Mohammad Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ishan Kishan.
Standby Players
Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, and Deepak Chahar.