Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson has not been included in the Indian squad for the ICC men's T20 World Cup that was announced on Wednesday.
Former India Captain MS Dhoni has been appointed as the mentor of the team for the T20 World Cup.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been included while Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been left out. The 34-year-old Ashwin last played white-ball cricket for India in 2017.
Virat Kohli will captain the unit and Rohit Sharma has been named his deputy while Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan are the designated wicketkeeper-batsmen in the 15-member squad that was released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Kishan and Varun Chakaravarthy have been rewarded for their consistent performance in the IPL and the few opportunities they got with the Indian team.
Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar have been named as standby.
The world cup will be held in UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14. West Indies are the reigning champions after they defeated England by 4 wickets in 2016 final.
Dhoni's new role
The announcement of Dhoni as a mentor of the team took everyone by surprise.
"Former India Captain M S Dhoni to mentor the team for the T20 World Cup," announced BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a press conference to unveil the squad for the event scheduled to start October 17 in the UAE and Oman.
"(I) spoke to him in Dubai. He agreed to be mentor for WT20 only and I discussed with my colleagues and all are on same page. I spoke to captain (Virat Kohli) and vice captain (Rohit Sharma) and everyone agreed," he added.
The 40-year-old Dhoni retired from international cricket last year having played his last game in 2019 World Cup semi-final.
It is believed that he has been brought in for his experience in devising white ball strategy and for also knowing how to win crucial ICC tournaments which has not been the case with his successor.
One of the most successful captains in the history of Indian cricket, the enigmatic wicketkeeper-batsman led India to two world titles -- the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 ODI World Cup in India.
Indian squad: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.
Standby players: Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.
(With PTI inputs)
