Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in India's main squad for T20 World Cup
New Delhi, Oct 13: Fast bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur on Wednesday replaced Axar Patel in India's squad for the T20 World Cup to be held in the UAE and Oman from October 17.
The 29-year-old Thakur has impressed with his 18 wickets in the ongoing IPL for Chennai Super Kings. With this, India completed the announcement of its final squad for the marquee tournament. Teams are allowed time till October 15 to finalise changes.
"The All-India Senior Selection Committee after a discussion with the team management has added Shardul Thakur to the main squad. All-rounder Axar Patel, who was part of the 15-member squad will now be on the list of stand-by players," BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.
With pace all-rounder Hardik Pandya not bowling during the IPL because of fitness issues, the selectors wanted a cover for him. The Mumbai Indians star's workload management is a major concern for the team management.
"The selectors felt that they were one pacer short and also with Hardik Pandya not bowling, they needed an all-rounder in the main squad," a source close to the selection committee told PTI.
"Axar remains in stand by and if Ravindra Jadeja gets injured, he will again be back in main team. Till Jaddu (Jadeja) plays, Axar won't be required."
As reported by PTI, the selectors also included Harshal Patel among the net bowlers for the Indian team.
"The following cricketers will join the team bubble in Dubai and assist Team India in their preparations: Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed and K. Gowtham," the statement said.
Among the stand-by players, Railways leg-spinner Karn Sharma, who is part of the CSK right now, was a surprise inclusion.
Considered a close confidante of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been roped in as mentor of the national side for the World Cup, Sharma is retained year after year by CSK without playing too many matches as it is believed that he has been the franchise's "Lucky Mascot"
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal could not find a place despite an impressive IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore. He claimed 18 wickets in 15 matches.
India will open their campaign on October 24 against Pakistan.
India's squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami.
Stand-by players: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel.
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Air India flights to North America, Europe to use alternative routes
New Delhi (PTI): Air India will operate its flights to North America and Europe using alternative routes over available airspaces in the Middle East and cancel six flights to various European cities on March 2.
The airline, which cancelled 50 international flights on Sunday, said it would extend suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar till 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.
In a post on X on Sunday, the carrier said six flights, including Amritsar-Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham-Delhi (AI114), would be cancelled on Monday.
Besides, AI151 and A152 flights between Delhi and Zurich, as well as AI157 and AI158 flights between Delhi and Copenhagen, would be cancelled on Monday.
“All other flights to North America and Europe will operate as per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the Middle East, which is expected to add to the flying times.
"Additionally, flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport)," Air India said.
With stops in Rome, the flying time for Air India flights to North America would increase and also result in increased operating expenses.
Since the Iran and Iraq airspaces remain closed, officials said the airline would take the Egypt route to reach Europe, which would mean 30-40 minutes of additional flying time.
The flights would take the route through Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia and Egypt for European and North American destinations, the officials added.
The airline also said that it continues to closely monitor the situation and has carefully assessed the evolving circumstances across multiple parameters, including safety, security, airspace availability, and operational feasibility, before deciding on these operations for March 2.
In the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with the civil aviation ministry saying Indian carriers cancelled 350 international flights on Sunday.
