India's T20 World Cup squad: Ashwin returns, Dhoni to join team as mentor

BCCI secretary Jay Shah reveals that Dhoni agreed to be mentor for T20 WC only and captain (Virat Kohli) and vice captain (Rohit Shamra) and everyone have also agreed

Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was on Wednesday included in India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup alongside Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy. Meanwhile, in a surprise move, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has brought in country's iconic captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as mentor for Team India for ICC T20 WC 2021.

The 34-year-old Ashwin last played white-ball cricket for India in 2017 before being sidelined from one-day cricket following the Champions Trophy.

However, he kept performing in the IPL besides leading India's spin attack in Test cricket.

Kishan and Chakaravarthy have been rewarded for their consistent performance in the IPL and the few opportunities they got with the Indian team.

Also making the squad was Suryakumar Yadav, the 30-year-old Mumbai batsman who has been making a name for himself for his power-hitting.

 

Dhawan, Chahal dropped from India's T20 squad for World Cup

The big names to be dropped were opener Shikhar Dhawan and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Rahul Chahar has been preferred over Chahal who was a certainty in India's limited over squads until now. Dhawan has been overlooked with KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Kishan picked as the three openers.

Talking about the squad, chief selector Chetan Sharma said: "Ashwin is an asset. He performed well in the IPL and we needed a player of his experience. We need an off-spinner with Washington (Sundar) injured.

Dhoni appointed as Team India mentor for ICC T20 World Cup 2021

Iconic former captain MS Dhoni was brought in as mentor of India's 15-member T20 World Cup squad by the BCCI, a move that took everyone by surprise.

"Former India Captain MS Dhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup," announced BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a press conference to unveil the squad for the event scheduled to start October 17 in the UAE and Oman.

"(I) spoke to him in Dubai. He agreed to be mentor for WT20 only and I discussed with my colleagues and all are on same page. I spoke to captain (Virat Kohli) and vice captain (Rohit Shamra) and everyone agreed," he added.

 

"Former India Captain @msdhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup" - Honorary Secretary @JayShah #TeamIndia

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 8, 2021

 The 40-year-old Dhoni retired from international cricket last year having played his last game in 2019 World Cup semi-final.

It is believed that he has brought for his experience in devising white ball strategy and also knowing how to win crucial ICC tournaments which has not been the case with his successor.

Dhoni's acheivement as captain of Team India

One of the most successful captains in the history of Indian cricket, the enigmatic wicketkeeper-batsman led India to two world titles -- the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 ODI World Cup in India.

The T20 World Cup starts October 17 in the UAE and Oman.

India's reserve players for ICC T20 World Cup 2021

The others who could not find a place in the main squad were Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer.

Iyer has, however, made the standbys list along with Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar. Thakur has been in tremendous form and has already produced eye-catching performances in the ongoing Test series against England.

India vs Pakistan T20 cricket match date

India will open their T20 World Cup campaign on October 24 by taking on arch-rivals Pakistan.

India full squad for T20 WC

Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), 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, Mohammed Shami.

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

India squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Photo: @BCCI