Batting great Sunil Gavaskar has picked India's 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, to be held in UAE and Oman. Team India have plenty of options when it comes to finding the right combination going into the tournament.

Gavaskar is backing India captain Virat Kohli and experienced batsman Rohit Sharma to open the innings in the showpiece tournament, and dropped Shikhar Dhawan from his squad. He sees Suryakumar Yadav as an ideal batsman to be slotted into the side, along with KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant.

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India will be playing their first match of the tournament against arch-rival Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. They have New Zealand and Afghanistan in their group, along with two vacant spots for the teams from qualifiers.

The 72-year-old has also kept Washington Sundar in the squad, although his availability is in doubt after the recent injury on England tour. He is already out of the remainder of the IPL 2021 season. 

Gavaskar also picked five pacers naming Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, and Mohammad Shami in his squad. The only specialist spinner in the squad is Yuzvendra Chahal. Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, and Hardik Pandya are the all-rounders. 

Speaking on the inclusion of Krunal in the team, Gavaskar said on Sports Tak, "He's an all-rounder, a very experienced player, has performed very well in the IPL for the past many years so he surely deserves a place. He’s left-handed, which is an advantage as well.”

Gavaskar’s India squad for T20 World Cup 2021: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar (subject to fitness), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

(With Sports Tak Inputs)