Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel return as India announce 15-man squad for T20 World Cup 2022

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday (September 12) announced India's 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup 2022. There are no major surprises in the squad as fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel have returned after recovering well from their respective injuries.

The BCCI selection committee met on Monday afternoon to pick the squad after India's disappointing campaign in the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2022 where the team failed to make it to the final. India's bowling woes were left exposed in the tournament and the pace attack has been strengthened for the World Cup with the return of Bumrah and Harshal.

Both the pacers had missed the bus for Asia Cup after suffering injuries. They have now fully recovered and have been undergoing training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Bumrah and Harshal will spearhead India's pace battery alongside the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh.

Senior pacer Mohammed Shami was believed to be in contention to make a comeback in the T20 squad after a dismal show from Indian pacers in the Asia Cup. However, he has been selected as one of the standby players alongside Deepak Chahar and young spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who was part of India's Asia Cup squad.

In the absence of star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who failed to make the cut after undergoing knee surgery recently, Axar Patel has been roped in as a like-to-like replacement. Hardik Pandya remains India's first-choice all-rounder while Deepak Hooda will also be expected to chip in with the ball when required.

There are no major changes in the batting line-up from the squad that was picked for the Asia Cup. The likes of Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and others have also missed out as the selectors have retained the top four ofRohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli andSuryakumar Yadav along with Pandya and Hooda in the middle.

Both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have made the cut as expected. While Pant is likely to be the first-choice wicket-keeper, Karthik might have made the cut as a specialist finisher based on his current form. India have kept Shreyas Iyer in the reserves as a backup in case of injuries.

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