Mohammed Shami has been named to the 15-man Indian cricket squad for the T20 World Cup 2022, which begins on October 16 in Australia. Shami was initially named to the T20 World Cup standby list, but a stress-related back injury ruled Bumrah out of the mega event, opening the door for the veteran pacer. As backups, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have been named and will travel to Australia shortly. Deepak Chahar was also vying for the spot left vacant by Bumrah, but his recent injury struggles kept him out of the running. India’s T20 World Cup campaign kicks off on October 23 against archrivals Pakistan.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mohammed Shami as Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad. Shami has reached Australia and will link up with the squad in Brisbane ahead of the warm-up matches,” the BCCI said in a statement on Friday.
“Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have been named as backups and will travel to Australia shortly.”
Shami last appeared in T20 Internationals during the 2017 ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE. He was supposed to play in six T20Is against Australia and South Africa at home, but he tested positive for CIVID-19 and was forced to stay in isolation. He had to prove his fitness upon his return before the NCA approved his trip to Australia. Shami has appeared in 17 T20Is and taken 18 wickets.
Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh have joined the Indian fast bowling lineup. Earlier, former cricketers and ex-BCCI selectors such as Dilip Vengsarkar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth expressed their desire to see Shami in the squad. Shami had a fantastic season for the IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans, picking up 20 wickets in 16 matches at a strike-rate of 18.30. His economy was 8.00 RPO. He was GT’s top wicket-taker in the competition.
India ICC T20 World Cup Squad: 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, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami.
Source:IE