World T20 2021 | Spoke to MS Dhoni who agreed to become Team India mentor for World T20, reveals Jay Shah

The selection committee announced the Indian squad for the World T20 to be hosted in Oman and the United Arab Emirates from October 17 to November 14. Ravichandran Ashwin’s inclusion was surprising given he had not played any white ball cricket since July 2017. However,  the bigger surprise was the announcement that MS Dhoni would also be a part of the travelling contingent as a team mentor. Jay Shah explained how the former Indian captain was brought on board for the same. 

"So as far as MS Dhoni is concerned, I spoke to him when I was in Dubai so he was okay with the decision and he agreed to be the team mentor for the T20 World Cup only. I discussed this particular issue with my colleagues also, they are all on the same page", Shah stated during a virtual press conference.

 A major exclusion from the side was a certain Yuzvendra Chahal, who has been a premier spinner since Ashwin’s exclusion. 

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Varun, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan.

Standby players: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur.