Mumbai, September 8: The national selectors will on Wednesday (September 8) announce India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 through a virtual media conference, stated a media release from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The T20 World Cup is scheduled in the October-November window in the UAE. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar, with his fast leg-breaks, will fight it out for the additional tweaker's slot.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah (convenor of selection committee) will also expected to be a part of the most important selection by the committee.
While most of the teams are announcing 15-member squads, the BCCI is expected to announce either an 18 or 20 member squad as the ICC will allow a squad strength of 30, instead of 23 in earlier editions, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number is inclusive of the support staff. Any team can have more than 30-member squads but the extra cost is supposed to be borne by the country's cricket board.
The Indian white ball team will have at least 13 to 15 members, who are automatic selections but there are a few spots for which there would be some discussions. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja are two spinners who are all but sure of their slots and it could well be a toss-up between Chakravarthy, who has had good IPL runs and Rahul, who impressed in the recent tour of Sri Lanka.
With Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul both capable of donning the big gloves, Ishan Kishan, with some good performances for India in the recent tour of Sri Lanka, is expected to pip the highly-rated-but-under-performing Sanju Samson.
With Hardik Pandya not bowling his full quota of four overs, Shardul Thakur might be required after his new-found batting prowess.
When is team announcement: Friday, September 8.
Time: 9 PM IST
Where to watch: Live Streaming on ANI