Pace bowling all-rounder has replaced Axar Patel in the main squad for India’s T20 World Cup campaign. Axar is now part of the standby list which also includes Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar.
Avesh Khan, Lukman Meriwala, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, and Krishnappa Gowtham will also be part of the team bubble to assist the squad in their preparations, as per a BCCI statement. The T20 World Cup will be played in the United Arabic Emirates, after the qualifying stages in Oman.
Shardul Thakur had a good season in the Indian Premier League season with the Chennai Super Kings, as they finished second in the league and also have now made it to the final. He picked up 13 wickets in the second leg, which was the third-best in the league.
Thakur’s role in the national team could be similar to the one currently being fulfilled by Hardik Pandya. With the latter being a question mark with regard to his ability to bowl, Thakur can slot into his place.
Hardik didn’t have a very good IPL season by his standards and didn’t bowl in the UAE leg. He hasn’t batted a lot in the second leg, but has made his batting ability well known after his performances in England in the test series.
Axar Patel, who made way for Thakur, will now occupy a place in the reserves. With it being highly unlikely that he will start ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar, an almost like-for-like replacement, will not feature in the main squad barring injury or illness for any player.
Apart from the three reserve players, India have named eight players, primarily bowlers, to assist India in their preparations. Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel, who performed extremely well for their franchises in the IPL, have made it into this list.
Venkatesh Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Umran Malik, who performed some minor roles for their franchise squads in the IPL have also been drafted into the system.
Lukman Meriwala, Karn Sharma, and Krishnappa Gowtham, who did not feature in the second leg of the IPL, have also been asked to stay back in the bubble to aid the main squad in their preparations.
