T20 WC: BCCI names Mohammed Shami as Jasprit Bumrah's replacement, Siraj-Shardul added in reserves

After a long wait, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have named Mohammed Shami as the replacement for injured Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad. Ever since it became official that Bumrah won't be part of the T20 WC, speculations were rife regarding who will replace him. At first, the contenders were Md Shami and Deepak Chahar. However, with Chahar also bowing out due to back issues, Shami has now become Bumrah's replacement.

Meanwhile, the likes of pacer Mohammed Siraj and all-rounder Shardul Thakur have been added to the reserves. The duo were part of the Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian ODI team, who beat South Africa 2-1 at home. During the three-match series, Siraj picked up five wickets at an economy of 4.52 and returned as the Player-of-the-Series. Shardul also contributed with three scalps and scored a vital 31-ball 33 during the series opener.

BCCI release | The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mohammed Shami as Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad. Shami has reached Australia and will link up with the squad in Brisbane ahead of the warm-up matches.

Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have been named as backups and will travel to Australia shortly.

India's revised squad for ICC T20 World Cup: 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, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami.

Rohit-led India will play two warm-up games, versus Australia and New Zealand respectively, before their T20 WC opening fixture, where they will lock horns with Pakistan at the MCG, Melbourne on October 23.