Shardul Thakur will be playing in the place of Axar Patel in India’s squad. He will be playing for the T20 World Cup 2021 and Axar will join the list of standby players for the squad. Other members on the list include Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar. The BCCI also stated that the eight players would additionally be joining the team’s bubble in Dubai. They would “assist Team India in their preparations” for the tournament.
The team includes Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed, and K Gowtham. The T20 will be played in the UAE, where IPL 2021 is also currently in progress. Thakur has had a good IPL season with Chennai Super Kings. He also finished second in the league and went further to win the first qualifier while playing against Delhi Capitals. He has picked up 13 wickets in the UAE leg of the tournament, joint third in the period.
His strikes played a major role in a Smart Wickets tally of 17.5, narrowly behind Yuzvendra Chahal’s chart-topping 17.62. Well, Hardik Pandya didn’t bowl during the IPL, and if he’s unable to do so in the T20 World Cup too, then Thakur has a chance to be in line to fill that void. Talking about Axar, he has also had a good IPL overall and in the UAE leg, being particularly impressed with his economic rate. Axar provides an almost like-for-like option and if Jadeja is injured or unavailable, then Axar has a chance to enter the main squad.
Well, the eight players who are going to be part of the Indian team’s bubble and help with preparations include most of the bowlers. Venkatesh Iyer’s primary suit is not bowling, although he could well be an additional cover for the seam-bowling allrounder’s spot. Avesh, Umran, Harshal, and Shahbaz have all been a part of the IPL and have surely impressed his fans many times. Avesh has had a sterling season with Capitals, being entrusted with the tough overs in the powerplay and at the death, and has picked up 23 wickets in 15 games.
Harshal has a record-equalling 32 strikes, successfully reaching the top of the chart. Umran turned heads with his skills to generate a searing pace and is currently at the top of the list which is known for the fastest ball bowled in IPL 2021. He was successful in clocking one at 153kph. Shahbaz was a utility player for Royal Challengers. The trio of Meriwala, Karn, and Gowtham haven’t played a match in the UAE leg of IPL 2021. Nevertheless, the Capitals for Meriwala and Super Kings for Karn and Gowtham have come up in the top two of the league stages.
