Veteran India spinner R Ashwin has returned to the Indian T20I squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 which is all set to take place in UAE and Oman whereas the wrist spinners duo – Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been left out for the mega event.
However, Ashwin last featured in a T20I in July way back in 2017 against the West Indies. He led Punjab in the IPL in the 2018 and 2019 seasons as well, picking up 10 and 15 wickets respectively. Later, he played for Delhi Capitals in 2020 and picked up 13 wickets at an average of 30.07 and an economy of 7.66 as well.
Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021: BCCI Announces Team India Squad For The Mega Event
On the other hand, veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan, who recently led the limited-overs side in Sri Lanka, has also failed to get a place in the squad as well. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur have been added to the reserve players for the Indian team.
"Former India Captain @msdhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup" – Honorary Secretary @JayShah #TeamIndia
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 8, 2021
Meanwhile, former India captain MS Dhoni will also be with the team as a mentor for the tournament, confirmed the BCCI secretary Jay Shah while announcing the squad on Wednesday (September 8).
Twitterati reacted seeing the Team India T20 World Cup squad:
Greatest decision. pic.twitter.com/Mt5Jnpf9Ri
— ً (@AaD_Vajpai) September 8, 2021
Haters: MSD is done with Indian team, Meanwhile MSD: pic.twitter.com/Mv5ico8Xji
— Ana de Armas stan (@abhithecomic) September 8, 2021
https://twitter.com/SportsCuppa/status/1435630007116832768?s=20
https://twitter.com/NarmadaInfor/status/1435631390339469315?s=20
This news has made my day
Now This Mahirat pair will win us WC This year 🤩🔥❤️ pic.twitter.com/wH9V8t3XjN
— Ravi Desai 🇮🇳 (@its_DRP) September 8, 2021
Biggest news is that Ashwin is recalled to the #T20WorldCup team. No other spinner turns the ball away from left handers. No Chahal means a big vote of confidence in Rahul Chahar. Bit hard on Shreyas Iyer
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 8, 2021
R Ashwin is back in limited overs cricket after a 4-year hiatus. Surprised not to see Chahal in the team @BCCI
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) September 8, 2021
With Washington not fit, picking Ashwin is the right move. India have a spinner who can bowl in the powerplay, a non-negotiable in the UAE. Which means, India can also save up Bumrah for the second-half of the innings. And this is a superb squad. Can win the World Cup.
— Venkata Krishna B (@venkatatweets) September 8, 2021
Two big boosts from the announcement of the team for the T20 World Cup! #Ashwin & #MSD as mentor! Brilliant @bcci @JayShah @SGanguly99
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) September 8, 2021
Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, 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.
