The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 15-man squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, scheduled to be played in Australia from October 16 to November 13. Rohit Sharma will lead the squad as India will also travel with 4 stand-by players for the quadrennial tournament.
India will begin their campaign in the Super 12 stages of the tournament against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Group 2 will feature India, Pakistan, South Africa and Bangladesh plus the Group B winners and Group A runners-up. Sixteen nations will compete in the tournament, which will be played in Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Bumrah and Harshal return
Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel returned to the side, having missed out on the Asia Cup with a side strain. Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the other two pacers in the squad, along with the all-rounder Hardik Pandya. The squad was, however, missing all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who sustained an injury during the Asia Cup.
R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel are the specialist spinners, with the latter ostensibly replacing Jadeja in the squad. The batting line-up is along expected lines with captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik all included.
With captain Rohit Sharma and his deputy KL Rahul set for opening, star batter Virat Kohli is set to bat at No.3 after regaining his form in the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2022. Suryakumar Yadav has been India's most successful batter in T20I cricket in the current season and will be set to bat at No.4 on Australian pitches, with optimum bounce.
Hardik Pandya has evolved as a cricketer and his form at No.5 will be crucial to India’s chances of lifting their second World T20 title. The 2022 IPL-winning captain peaked as a cricketer this year, and batting above has done his game a world of good. Aging like red wine, Dinesh Karthik has now completed 18 years in international cricket and considering his role as India’s designated finisher, he will take up the finishing role at No.6.
With Ravindra Jadeja out due to knee surgery, Axar Patel will be a like-to-like replacement who has to play that spin bowling all-rounder’s role. His power hitting has improved, as evident in the West Indies recently, and with a career economy rate of 7.34 in 25 matches, Axar will be crucial for India.
India's bowling attack will be led by fit-again Jasprit Bumrah, ever-consistent Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the country's best spinner in the format, Yuzvendra Chahal. Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh and T20 specialist Harshal Patel will add weight to India's experienced bowling attack in the ICC tournament in Australia.
India squad
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Y Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, B Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh.
Stand-by players
Mohd. Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar
