India Squad for T20 World Cup 2021: Ashwin returns, MS Dhoni to mentor team

Mumbai, September 8: India selectors on Wednesday (September 8) announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in the UAE. The selectors led by Chetan Sharma met virtually. BCCI secretary Jay Shah and Sharma revealed the team in a joint virtual press meet.

Former India captain MS Dhoni will be the mentor of the team while Virat Kohli will lead the side. Veteran off-spinner R Ashwin returned to the white ball squad after a gap of four years.

Ashwin had last played a T20I against West Indies in July 2017. Yuzvendra Chahal misses out as MS Dhoni will be the mentor of the team.

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has the hosting rights, the tournament has been moved out of the country with an eye on the COVID-19 pandemic.
India and Pakistan will be locking horns on October 24 in a group-stage encounter.

The tournament will get underway from October 17, with the final to be played in Dubai on November 14.

The tournament will begin with the Round 1 Group B encounter between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea on October 17, with Scotland and Bangladesh, the other teams in
Group B, clashing in the evening match.

Ireland, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Namibia -- making up Group A -- will be in action in Abu Dhabi the next day, with Round 1 matches running till October 22. The top two teams in each group will proceed to the Super 12 stage of the tournament beginning on October 23.

The second round of the tournament -- the Super12 stage -- will get underway in Abu Dhabi on October 23, with the Group 1 contest between Australia and South Africa. This will be followed up with an evening clash between England and West Indies in Dubai.

Old rivals England and Australia will lock horns in Dubai on October 30. It will conclude on November 6 with matches between Australia and West Indies in Abu Dhabi, and England and South Africa in Sharjah.

Group 2 will commence with a heavyweight clash between India and Pakistan in Dubai on October 24. Pakistan then take on New Zealand in Sharjah on October 26, in a tough start for the 2009 champions.

Afghanistan begin their campaign on October 25 at Sharjah, taking on the winners of Group B from the first round. It will conclude on November 8, with India taking on the second-placed Round 1 qualifier from Group A.

The first semifinal will be held in Abu Dhabi on November 10. The second semi-final will be hosted by Dubai on November 11.

Both semifinals have reserve days. The marquee clash of the tournament will take place in Dubai on November 14, Sunday, with Monday acting as the reserve day for the final.

The India squad for the T20 World Cup 2021: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.

Stand-byes: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur.