The T20 World Cup 2021 will be hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the UAE and Oman in the months of October-November. The tournament was supposed to be played in India, but the second wave of COVID-19 forced the ICC and BCCI to find an alternate venue.
The tournament will be played in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi, along with qualifying matches to be held in Oman.
New Zealand became the first team to announce their squad for the ICC tournament recently and keeping it in the same vein, Team COC presents to you the predicted Team India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE and Oman.
Given that all the participating teams have to announce their 15-men squads 30 days before the start of the T20 World Cup 2021, which begins on October 17, the second half of the IPL 2021, which will also be played in the UAE, becomes irrelevant in terms of selection criteria.
Some of the players in the white-ball scene are almost certainties in the squad.
Virat Kohli as the captain, Rohit Sharma as the opener/vice-captain are certain to be named in the squad. Also, possible certainties are the likes of KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
All of the above-mentioned players have proven themselves time and time again and deserve a spot in the Indian T20 World Cup squad.
For the remaining spots in the team, there might be some competition like between Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan for a middle-order spot. Deepak Chahar and cousin brother Rahul Chahar might be picked as backup options to frontline bowlers as Chahal is the only first-choice wrist spinner in the squad.
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Talking about the middle order spot, Shreyas Iyer may be picked over Ishan Kishan given that there is KL Rahul to keep wickets in case Rishabh Pant pulls up with an injury and Iyer has been part of the Indian white-ball team longer than Kishan and has established himself in the first choice playing XI.
A spinning all-rounder in Washington Sundar might also get a nod to go if his finger injury heals in time for the ICC event. Sundar has been a vital cog in the Indian bowling attack, majorly bowling in the powerplays and getting a couple of quick wickets at a decently cheap economy rate.
Indian bowling attack might more or less consist of a combination of three pacers and two spinners plus an allrounder. It also depends on Hardik Pandya’s fitness to bowl four overs in all matches, if that happens, India can go with more bowling options and maybe play three spinners-Jadeja, Chahal, and Chahar, along with Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 begins on October 17 and the final will be played on November 14.
COC Predicted Team India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021:
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Rahul Chahar
