T20 World Cup: Dhoni Named Mentor; Ashwin Makes Cut, Chahal Misses Out

Mumbai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s only two-time World Cup-winning captain, has been named mentor of the T20 World Cup squad.

Dhoni, under whose leadership Team India lifted the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup, retired from international cricket in August 2020.

The squad, announced on Wednesday after a teleconference among the selectors and captain Virat Kohli, threw up a few surprises.

Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has not been included in the playing XI of any of the four Tests of the ongoing series against England, has been named in the 15-man squad.

He is one of five spinners, the others being Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarty. Leggie Yuzvendra Chahal has been ignored.

Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami and all-rounder Hardik Pandya are the quick bowlers. Shardul Thakur, who has been very impressive as an all-rounder in the Test matches against England, did not find favour with the selectors though he is one of three players on standby.

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav are the only specialist batsmen, while wicketkeeping all-rounders Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan will be expected to deliver with the bat.

The T20 World Cup will be held in the UAE from October 14 to November 17.

T20 World Cup squad

Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.

On standby: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.