Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in T20 World Cup squad

India have made only once change in the T20 World Cup squad. Shardul Thakur has replaced Axar Patel, who is now the part of the stand by players list. According to the BCCI Press Release, the selectors made the change after discussing with the team management.

Yuzvendra Chahal, who took 14 wickets in 8 matches of the UAE leg, was not considered for the high profile tournament. Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar will continue to be the standby players. Shardul took 13 wickets in 8 matches of the IPL 2021 in UAE. He will also take part in the finale of the tournament on October 15.

Axar was hard done as he took nine wickets in seven matches and was also economical. The BCCI has also added Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and Krishnappa Gowtham to India’s bubble to assist them in the preparations.

Hardik Pandya has managed to retain his place despite not bowling in the IPL for Mumbai Indians.

Here’s the updated squad:

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

Standby Players: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel

Net Bowlers: Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and K. Gowtham.