Former India skipper Mohammed Azharuddin has said that he was surprised to not see two players in India’s T20 World Cup squad announced by the BCCI on Monday.
The BCCI on Monday released the names of 15 players for this year’s T20 World Cup. They were Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh.
The BCCI also added that Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Chahar would be standby players. This means that they would be considered for selection in the event any players were not available due to injuries or other reasons.
Azhar said that he would have preferred Shami and Iyer in the squad. “Surprised at the omission of Shreyas Iyer and Md. Shami from the main squad,” Azhar wrote.
The former India skipper added, “Shreyas Iyer instead of Deepak Hooda and Md. Shami in the place of Harshal Patel would be my choice.”
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Many cricket fans on social media too had expressed their surprise over Shami’s exclusion. Others had wondered why the BCCI was persisting with Rishabh Pant. A section felt that fast bowler Umran Malik should have been considered for the World Cup in light of his lightning pace.
India were knocked out of the just-concluded Asia Cup after losing to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super Four stage. Sri Lanka went on to win the competition.