T20 World Cup 2021: Chief selector reveals the main reason behind dropping Yuzvendra Chahal

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, scheduled to be played in UAE and Oman. One of the most surprising exclusions in the 15-member party was that of Indian spin twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav as the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee preferred spinners Rahul Chahar, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy apart from all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

Highlighting the primary reason behind Chahal’s exclusion, chief selector Chetan Sharma, during a virtual press meet on September 8, stated: “Spinners who bowl quick was our priority. Hence, we went with Rahul Chahar,” while he admitted that Varun Chakravarthy is “surprise package as a mystery bowler.”

The team, set to be led by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as his deputy, has KL Rahul as the opener alongside the latter, while two wicketkeepers in Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan have been included too. “No 1 Rishabh and No 2 is Ishan Kishan. KL Rahul may be used by the team management as the last option. We have selected Rahul as an opener,” said Sharma.

Regarding the team’s opening combination, Sharma said further: “Ishan Kishan can open besides Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. If the management says Virat should open, that’s up to them to decide”. Notably, Kohli opened alongside Rohit Sharma during the home T20I series against England earlier this year in Ahmedabad and expressed his plan to fix himself in that position for the T20 World Cup.

MS Dhoni to mentor India during T20 World Cup 2021

In another major development, the BCCI appointed former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the team mentor. “I spoke with my colleagues – captain, vice-captain – we all were on the same page and spoke to Dhoni. He has agreed to be a part of the team management for the T20 World Cup only,” informer Board Secretary Jay Shah.

Further, Chetan Sharma provided an update regarding Hardik Pandya’s fitness as the latter has stayed away from bowling action for over a year now owing to his back injury. “Hardik Pandya is going to bowl his quota of overs in every match,” Sharma told the reporters on September 8.

India squad for T20 World Cup 2021: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.

Standby players: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.