New Delhi: Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was on Wednesday included in India’s 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup alongside Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy. MS Dhoni has been announced as team mentor.
The 34-year-old Ashwin last played white-ball cricket for India in 2017.
Kishan and Chakaravarthy have been rewarded for their consistent performance in the IPL and the few opportunities they got with the Indian team.
The T20 World Cup starts October 17 in the UAE and Oman.
Jay Shah, the BCCI Honorary Secretary, revealed the thinking behind appointing Dhoni, the former India captain who led the side to the inaugural T20 World Cup trophy.
“As far as Dhoni is concerned, I spoke to him when I was in Dubai,” said Shah. “He was okay with the decision, and he agreed to be a mentor for team India, for the T20 World Cup only.
Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), 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, Mohammed Shami.
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