Team India will begin their ICC T20 World Cup 2021 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 (Sunday) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Virat Kohli’s men will enter the multi-nation event as one of the favourites to win the illustrious trophy.

The All Indian National Selection Committee headed by former cricketer Chetan Sharma picked the best available 15 players for the T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli will be leading the side which will be his last assignment as India’s T20I captain. The talismanic cricketer will be desperate to walk away as the skipper with an ICC title under his belt.

The squad also boasts the likes of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. It also has some newcomers in the form of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy. The India squad also witnessed the return of veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who last donned India’s coloured jersey in 2017.

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The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) also have appointed former India captain MS Dhoni as the mentor of the side for the global T20 event. He will work closely with the team as the men in blues look to bring home the trophy.

Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in the squad

The all-rounder from Mumbai, Shardul Thakur has been added to the final squad in place of Axar Patel. Axar now joins Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer in the reserves for the competition. Shardul has been in spectacular form in recent times and his addition will be a massive boost for India.

The Asian giants have played two warm-up games against England and Australia and have won both the games leading up to the T20 World Cup. Brimming with confidence, the 2007 World T20 Champions will look to start the tournament with a win against Pakistan.

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