Team India's squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 could see some changes as skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma have set up a meeting with the national selectors to finalise their 15-member squad for the tournament, ahead of the October 10 deadline.
The BCCI had announced a 15-member squad on September 8 and the selectors surprised many by leaving out the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Shardul Thakur out of the squad. With some players in the initial squad struggling during the UAE leg of IPL and many left out of the have given a strong statement by putting up consistent performances.
The likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur and Shreyas Iyer have made a case for their selection and looking at the performances of those in the squad and those not, BCCI could make some change sin the final squad, like Pakistan, who made three changes to their final squad for the multi-nation event.
Along with his form, Hardik Pandya's form and fitness are one of the biggest concerns for the management as the star all-rounder didn't look in his usual batting form and didn't even bowl a single ball in the second leg of the IPL 2021.
Hardik was picked as the fourth seamer in the squad as the Chairman of Selectors, Chetan Sharma had shown faith in him bowling his full quota of overs. With Hardik not bowling, it may disrupt India's balance for the T20 World Cup and they might add an extra all-round option.
However, the board is keen on keeping Hardik in the side as there is no like-for-like replacement of him. According to a BCCI source, the likes of Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur are not ready to take up the all-rounder's role.
“There is no question of replacing Hardik at this stage. Shardul or Deepak are not ready to take on the role. We have to develop backup in future. But now, it’s not the time, he will not be replaced,” a BCCI source told InsideSport.
