
BCCI announced India's 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 edition on Monday evening (September 12). As expected, the main squad comprises all the big guns who featured in the Asia Cup but also saw the return of premier pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel.
In the reserve list, Md Shami, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi were named. Former Indian captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar opened up on India's squad for the showpiece event, in Australia from October-November, and named the star player who can be Men in Blue's finisher. While the squad features some known finishers such as Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant, Vengsarkar feels Suryakumar Yadav can do the tough job at the forthcoming ICC event.
"I can’t really comment on who bats at what number. It is up to the think tank, the coach, the captain and the vice-captain. But I feel Suryakumar Yadav, who is batting at 4, can bat at 5 as well. He can be a great finisher," Vengsarkar was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
"T20 is not like ODIs and Test cricket, where you need certain batters at certain positions. In this format, anybody can bat anywhere. You don’t have time to settle down. One should go after the bowlers from ball one," he opined.
SKY ended the Asia Cup with 139 runs -- eighth-highest overalland second-most among Indians -- including a breathtaking 26-ball 68 not out versus Hong Kong.
The 1983 World Cup-winning member Vengsarkar also mentioned the three players he would've picked had he been part of thecurrent selection committee. "I would have picked Mohammed Shami, Umran Malik and Shubman Gill for the T20 World Cup. Would have given them a long run in T20Is because they all had a brilliant IPL season," he added.
India's T20 World Cup squad:Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh.
Standby players:Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Deepak Chahar.