T20 World Cup: Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel to join Team India's main squad

Shardul Thakur has been added to the main squad of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming T20 World Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed after discussion between team management and the All-India Senior Selection Committee. Thakur has replaced Axar Patel, who will now be on the list of stand-by players. 

Men's T20 World Cup will get underway from October 17 and Virat Kohli-led team India will start their campaign with a heavyweight clash against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai. 

In a statement, BCCI also mentioned the names of cricketers who will join the Indian cricket team's bubble in Dubai and will assist them in their preparations. Those players are: Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and K. Gowtham. 

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The tournament was scheduled to be held in India but the COVID-19 situation in the country forced organisers to shift it to the United Arab Emirates and Oman. 

India's squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami

Stand-by players: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel