"The chanakya is in dressing room" - Twitter is ecstatic as MS Dhoni will mentor Team India during the T20 World Cup

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has formally announced the 15-man Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup. The BCCI will host the mega event in UAE and Oman due to the pandemic situation in India.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that former Indian skipper MS Dhoni will mentor the Indian side during the World Cup.

Here is the 15-man India squad for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli (Capt), 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, Mohd Shami.

Indian cricket fans approved most of the selections but were not happy with a few omissions. However, most were elated that MS Dhoni would mentor the team in the tournament.

Team India will square off against Pakistan in their first match at the World Cup on October 24 in Dubai

The tournament will commence on October 17 with the Round 1 match between Oman and Papua New Guinea. Dubai will host the final on 14 November.

Group 1 - England, Australia, West Indies, South Africa, Winner Group A, and Runner-up Group B

Group 2- India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Winner Group B, and Runner-up Group A

The Super 12 stage will begin on October 23 with a clash between Australia and South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Team India will commence their campaign with a blockbuster encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 at the Dubai International Stadium at 6 PM (local time).

According to the T20 World Cup India schedule, Virat Kohli's side will play their final Super 12 stage match of the tournament on November 8 against one of the Round 1 qualifiers.

India has only won one T20 World Cup so far, in 2007. They ended up on the losing side in the semi-finals against the West Indies during the previous T20 World Cup in 2016.

Virat Kohli's men will be looking to improve on that performance this time around.

About the author

Balakrishna has been a cricket writer at Sportskeeda for almost seven years. A sport that he has been following and playing since he was eight, Balakrishna enjoys the intensity of the sport, skills and strategies applied to get a result out of nowhere, and the thrill that it gives. He also played as a medium pace bowling all-rounder in four inter-college tournaments, winning twice.

Balakrishna’s all-time favorite cricketers are Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma. He admires Sachin’s stellar performances against legendary bowlers, along with his discipline and humility. Meanwhile, he is a big fan of how Rohit turned around his initial struggles to build a successful career.

He avidly supports Team India and 2016 IPL winners SunRisers Hyderabad. The first World Cup that Balakrishna ever saw was the 2003 World Cup, when Australia comprehensively triumphed over India in the final.

While working, he ensures he only uses reliable sources and provides relevant, ethical, and accurate information. When not working, Balakrishna enjoys playing table tennis and reading non-fiction books.

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"The chanakya is in the dressing room" - Twitter is ecstatic as MS Dhoni will mentor Team India during the T20 World Cup

Team India will square off against Pakistan in their first match at the World Cup on October 24 in Dubai