Ravichandran Ashwin Included As India Name T20 World Cup Squad, MS Dhoni To Mentor Team

Ravichandran Ashwin has been included as part of India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman beginning October 17, the BCCI announced on Wednesday. Ashwin hasn't played in a T20 international match since 2017. The other big announcement of the day was the addition of former India skipper MS Dhoni to the squad as mentor. Led by Virat Kohli, with Rohit Sharma as the vice-captain, the Indian squad doesn't include opener Shikhar Dhawan while leg spinner Varun Chakravarthy has made the cut.

Pacer Mohammed Shami too has been included in the squad while Ishan Kishan has been included as the second wicketkeeper in the squad.

In addition, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar have been named as standby players.

Speaking in the press conference to announce the squad, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said Dhoni's role as a mentor will be limited to the T20 World Cup.

"(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 Shamra) and everyone agreed," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

India have been placed in Group 2 of the Super 12 phase for the World Cup. Eight teams have already qualified to this phase, where they will be joined by four teams from the first round.

India's group also features Afghanistan, New Zealand and arch-rivals Pakistan and will have two more teams from the first round.

Ashwin took to Twitter to express his delight on his T20I recall. The 34-year-old cricketer shared a quote that he had put up on a wall at his home, saying "happiness and gratitude are the only 2 words that define me now".

2017: I wrote this quote down a million times in my diary before putting this up on the wall! Quotes that we read and admire have more power when we internalise them and apply in life.

Happiness and gratitude are the only 2 words that define me now.#t20worldcup2021 pic.twitter.com/O0L3y6OBLl

— Mask up and take your vaccine (@ashwinravi99) September 8, 2021

Here is the full India squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket ICC T20 World Cup 2021 India Cricket Team Ravichandran Ashwin MS Dhoni Virat Kohli