Return of Bumrah, cruel for Bishnoi – India’s T20 World Cup squad announcement

Despite failing to reach the final of the recently completed Asia Cup, India did not make unexpected changes to their squad. Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel returned after undergoing extensive rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy, while Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan fell out of contention.

Ahead of the tournament, India will also play Twenty20 Internationals against both South Africa and Australia at home – their last outings before they head for Australia. India’s top three – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli – often bat deep into the innings for their respective sides in the IPL. Despite India’s recent attempts at breaking the shackles in the Powerplay and Kohli’s probable return to form, India’s decision to persist with all three in Twenty20 cricket has come under scrutiny.

Also Read: Australia’s ODI depth has pleased McDonald

Avesh and Bishnoi miss their tickets to Australia

India has traditionally seldom benched their stars once they picked them, and it is unlikely to change this time as well. Whether they will bat in the top three is something to be seen. Meanwhile, the selectors continue to ignore Sanju Samson. The top three and Suryakumar are fixed, Pant is a left-hander, Karthik can set off without notice, and Pandya can bowl four overs, which meant that Samson fell off the radar.

Like the top three, Pant has often struggled to cut loose before spending a few balls at the crease. No.5 is probably too low for someone like that, but India did back him – probably because in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, they do not have another left-hander who can break the monotone and take on spinners who move the ball away from right-handed batters in the middle overs. India may use Pant as a floater up the order. He does not have a great T20I strike rate, but in the IPL. Where he comes in earlier, he does explode once he gets his eyes in.

Despite Karthik’s rare ability to accelerate without getting his eye in, India preferred Pant ahead of Karthik for some matches of the Asia Cup. Leg-spin has been Karthik’s nemesis over the past couple of years, and India may pick one of the two based on the opposition.