Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahmed among 8 players named as net bowlers for the T20 World Cup

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed one change to the 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup on Wednesday. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel was replaced by fast-bowling all-rounder, Shardul Thakur. However, the 27-year-old spinner has been added to the standby list alongside Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer. The board, on the other hand, confirmed that up to eight players will join the team as net bowlers for the event. 

On the back of superlative performances with the ball in IPL 2021, Harshal Patel has been called in to join the bubble and assist India in their preparations for the all-important tournament. The 31-year-old played an instrumental role in RCB’s success this season, accounting for 32 wickets at an impressive average of 14.34. In addition to that, he equalled Dwayne Bravo’s record for most scalps in a single IPL season.

Shahbaz Ahmed, another key member of RCB contingent, was also added to the list of additional players. The all-rounder, who has been impressive for Bengal in the domestic circuit, will be eager to capitalise on the opportunity. Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, and K Gowtham are among the other additions. 

India's 15-member squad: Virat Kohli (C, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Mohammad Shami, Rohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Suryakumar Yadav. 

Reserve players: Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel. 

Additional players: Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed, K Gowtham.