Injured Deepak Chahar has been replaced by all-arounder Shardul Thakur as a backup in the Indian team for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which begins on October 16 in Australia.
In order to join the Indian T20 World Cup team, Shardul, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj will soon depart for Australia, according to a report in India Today on Wednesday. Shardul was a key component in India's 2-1 series victory over South Africa.
Along with Shami, Shreyas Iyer, and Ravi Bishnoi, the 30-year-old Chahar was picked to the T20 World Cup reserves. The CSK pacer was expected to replace Jasprit Bumrah in the 15-member team, but he was forced to withdraw due to a stress fracture in his back.
Chahar was also ruled out for the championship match, hence the BCCI has chosen to send Siraj, Shardul, and Shami as well.
The team management will do a final evaluation of their performance in Australia, according to the report, before selecting a substitute for injured Jasprit Bumrah in the 15-man roster. Bumrah's stress fracture in his back caused him to be disqualified from the competition.
The 32-year-return old's to the team following a protracted case of Covid-19 and his lack of T20I cricket since the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE may work against Shami, despite the fact that he excelled during the Test series in Australia, which India won 2-1 to claim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Shami is being tipped to replace Bumrah in the squad.
He was forced to withdraw from the limited-overs series against Australia and South Africa due to his prolonged Covid-19, and he hasn't participated in a T20 International match for India since the 2017 T20 World Cup.
On the other side, Siraj's outstanding performance in India's recent 2-1 ODI series victory over South Africa may push him into the 15-player team. He took two wickets in the third and final game of the series, which was played on Tuesday in New Delhi and was won by the home team by seven wickets. With five wickets in the three-match ODI series, he was named "Player of the Series."
After missing the entire 2022 season of the Indian Premier League due to injury, Chahar was in outstanding form ever since he made his comeback during the series against Zimbabwe in Harare. But due to a stiff back, the bowler was recently forced to withdraw from the ODI series against South Africa. Off-spinner Washington Sundar took his place.
Shami, Siraj and Thakur will join the squad in Perth where they are currently preparing for the mega event.