By Chetan Sharma
New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS): Sunday is the last day of making any changes to the Indian T20 World Cup squad as per the ICC rules, and former cricketer Madan Lal has suggested the national selectors to include Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel in the team.
Chahal has been in decent form in the ongoing UAE leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. As he is getting better with every game, his absence in Team In'ia's 15-man T20 World Cup squad has now become one of the major points of discussion among the experts of the game.
Meanwhile, Patel, too, has put in some impressive performances, one of which is a hattrick against Mumbai Indians. He is the current Purple Cap holder with a whopping 30 wickets to his name in 14 matches. His slower deliveries have arguably been the most difficult to pick for batsmen in the IPL this season. IANS has also learnt that Patel is in contention to be added as a net bowler to the Indian side in UAE.
"I am still unable to understand why Chahal was not picked at first. He has been performing well and is our best spinner. He did well in the past and also in the ongoing IPL. I was a bit shocked when I got to know about Chahal being ignored. The second is Harshal Patel. He should be included in the team as well," Madan Lal told IANS.
"Whom the selectors will replace in the team that will be their call. They should make a balance accordingly which will help the team in the tournament. But my suggestion is these two players, Chahal and Patel, must get included," he replied to a query.
However, a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official on Saturday has told IANS that there will be "no change" in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup unless there is an injury. The showpiece event will get underway from October 17 in UAE and Oman.
Ahead of the October 10 deadline, speculative reports were floating that the Indian side might see some changes as skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma reportedly set up a meeting with the national selectors.
But, dismissing all the claims, sources said the team will remain the same. "No formal meeting! And no changes will take place in the team unless there is an injury. Yes, the physios are keeping an eye on some of the players and they will share their report with the BCCI. This is a routine nothing new in that. But as of now, no change in the team is happening," the official told IANS.
Since the squad has been announced, critics and some former players have raised concerns over the snub to some top players like Shikhar Dhawan and Chahal. Especially after their performance during the IPL 2021 UAE leg.
India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Varun, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan.
Standby players: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.