Notably, the T20 World Cup 2021 was originally scheduled to take place in India, but due to COVID-19 complications, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to shift the mega competition. Now, the World Cup of the shortest format will take place in Oman and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Like every side, Team India will be looking forward to do well in the upcoming event as they haven’t yet won a single ICC title since the 2013 Champions Trophy. The ‘Men in Blue’ recently concluded the tour of Sri Lanka with a 1-2 series defeat in the T20Is. More than the result, the series was meant to test the bench strength and find out the best possible combination for T20 World Cup.
Before the BCCI officially reveals the squad of India, veteran cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle has picked his 15-member outfit for the global tournament. Starting with the openers, Harsha picked Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul with Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav to bat at number three and four, respectively. For number five, Harsha mentioned that he would choose Shreyas Iyer, but if the Mumbaikar remains unfit, he will go with Ishan Kishan.
“I don’t know how fit Shreyas Iyer is. I just looked at the numbers before he got injured, and he had very good runs top of the order. He had very good runs in the bottom, so I’ve got Iyer there, but if he doesn’t have enough match time behind him, then I will look at Ishan Kishan as the left-hander makes a huge difference,” said Harsha on Cricbuzz.
Harsha picked Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja as all-rounders, while Rishabh Pant was given the responsibility to keep the wickets.
Among the bowlers, the 60-year-old went with Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as preferred pacers. Similarly, for the spinners, Harsha picked the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Varun Chakravarthy. He reckoned that there could be a toss-up between Mohammed Shami and T Natarajan.
“I know Rahul Chahar bowled well here (Sri Lanka series), but I have Chakravarthy on my side. I have Washington Sundar because I want someone to maybe take the ball away from the left-hander if needed,” added Harsha.
Harsha Bhogle’s India squad for T20 World Cup 2021:
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer/Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami/T Natarajan, Yuzvendra Chahal.
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