Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel set to make much-awaited comebacks from injury as the India squad to be led by Rohit Sharma at the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday.
Ravindra Jadeja, who was ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022, remains missing in the much-awaited T20 squad because of a knee injury that he sustained. In his place, Axar Patel makes the squad as the spin-bowling all-rounder.
India will go in with four standby players – two pacers, one batter and one leg-spinner – in Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Chahar.
India’s squad for the 2022 ICC Men’s 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, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Standby players - Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar
The BCCI also announced the squad for the upcoming six T20IS at home against Australia and South Africa. Shami and Chahar will feature against Australia with Arshdeep Singh absent, while the left-arm pacer returns for the South Africa series that follows. Hardik and Bhuvneshwar are not named in the squad for South Africa T20Is.
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, Mohammed 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, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah
Note: Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be reporting to the NCA for conditioning-related work during the course of the home series against Australia and South Africa.
Three ODIs vs South Africa follow the T20Is, the squad for which hasn’t been announced yet.
Indian men's home season
| Day | Date | Match | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IND vs AUS | Tuesday | 20th September | 1st T20I | Mohali |
| IND vs AUS | Friday | 23rd September | 2nd T20I | Nagpur |
| IND vs AUS | Sunday | 25th September | 3rd T20I | Hyderabad |
| IND vs SA | Wednesday | 28th September | 1st T20I | Thiruvananthapuram |
| IND vs SA | Sunday | 2nd October | 2nd T20I | Guwahati |
| IND vs SA | Tuesday | 4th October | 3rd T20I | Indore |
| IND vs SA | Thursday | 6th October | 1st ODI | Lucknow |
| IND vs SA | Sunday | 9th October | 2nd ODI | Ranchi |
| IND vs SA | Tuesday | 11th October | 3rd ODI | Delhi |
India had a forgettable Asia Cup 2022 campaign in the United Arab Emirates. Playing as defending champions, they won both their matches in the group stage before losing two out of three in the Super Fours. Defeats against Pakistan and Sri Lanka meant India couldn’t qualify for the final, and they ended the tournament with a win against Afghanistan.
Virat Kohli was the standout player for India at the Asia Cup. The former captain finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament – 276 runs at an average of 92.00 and strike-rate of 147.59 – and hit two half-centuries and a century along the way. His unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan was his 71st international ton and signalled a much-awaited return to form.
The real significance of Virat Kohli’s 71st international century, beyond the 122 runs
India are set to play two bilateral series at home in the build-up to the World Cup. They will first face Australia in three T20 Internationals, followed by three T20Is and as many ODIs against South Africa. All these matches will be played between September 20 to October 11.
India will then compete in two warm-up matches for the World Cup – against Australia on October 17 and against New Zealand on October 19. Their first match of the World Cup is scheduled for October 23 against Pakistan.
