NO SURPRISES

SELECTORS BACK EXPERIENCE, STICK TO TRIED AND TESTED PLAYERS FOR T20 WORLD CUP

In a big boost for India, fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, now recovered from their injuries, expectedly returned to the squad as the national selectors avoided risks and chose to play safe while naming a star-studded 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.

On a busy day, chief selector Chetan Sharma and his colleagues, along with captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid, met virtually to also pick the 16-member India squads for the forthcoming T20I series at home against Australia (three matches beginning with the first on September 20 in Mohali) and South Africa (three matches beginning with the first on Sept 28 in Thiruvananthapuram).

The 2022 T20 World Cup is set to take place between Oct 16-Nov 13 Down Under. India launch their campaign against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Oct 23, before taking on South Africa in Perth on Oct 30, Bangladesh on Nov 2 and then a qualifier on Nov 6 in Melbourne.

The team will be led by Rohit, with his fellow opener KL Rahul being his deputy, as India retained almost the entire top-order which played in the T20 World Cup in UAE, where the team crashed out before the semifinals.

With the T20 World Cup so near, the key decision-makers in Indian cricket didn't want to press the panic button.

Skipper Rohit had recently said that "95%" of the squad had been identified, and as was estimated, there were no big surprises in India's T20 World Cup squad.

"The average age of the squad is more than 27. Clearly, the idea is to back experience and play safe in a tournament like the World Cup," said a source.