India's T20 WC squad: Dravid-Rohit favoured R Ashwin over Md Shami during selection meeting - Report

After much speculation, India's final squad for the forthcoming T20 World Cup was announced on Monday (September 12). The BCCI selection committee announced a strong 15-member squad with four players being named in the standby list. There wasn't much surprise in the final squad with pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel returned post injury concerns whereas Sanju Samson, Md Siraj, Ishan Kishan, etc. were the notable omissions.

Talking about the standby players, the likes of Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi have made the cut. Shami hasn't played a single T20I post last year's World Cup, however, given how the pace battery fared at the Asia Cup, the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid-led team management have included the senior pacer in the reserves. He is also part of the squads for the Australia and South Africa home T20Is. As per a report in InsideSport, there was a toss-up between Shami and R Ashwin while selecting the 15-man squad but Dravid-Rohit favoured the latter; pushing Shami's name in the reserve list.

Shami vs Ashwin

As per report, the selection committee was torn between including one of Shami or Ashwin in the final squad but Rohit-Dravid preferred the veteran off-spinner given his vast experience of bowling in Australia and the staggering success he enjoys against left-handed batters.

“The fact remains that they have drafted Mohammed Shami as a standby for the World Cup also goes to show that maybe they still have doubts about Bumrah and Harshal’s fitness. That’s why perhaps they want to keep Shami in the loop,” former national selector Saba Karim had told while speaking to Sportstar.

Given that both Bumrah and Harshal are returning from injuries, the team management will not be keen to include them straightaway into the playing XI. Even if they do, the two bowlers can take time to get going. Thus, Shami's inclusion is justified as his importance will be significant in such a scenario. He will be eager to make a mark in the upcoming white-ball series versus the Aussies and SA, at home, before the team leaves for Australia for the T20 WC.

India Squad for Australia T20Is:Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd. Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah.

India squad for South Africa T20Is:Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah.

India's final 15-man squad for T20 World Cup 2022:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, RAshwin, YuzvendraChahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh

Standby players -MohammedShami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar