Former India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has picked Rishabh Pant as the sole wicketkeeper in his team for the T20 World Cup while handing out international debut to left-arm seamer Yash Dayal to add a new dimension to the attack.
One of Zaheer's most interesting selections was the 26-year-old Dayal, who represents Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League. He has taken into account Mohammed Shami's injury layoff while picking his squad.
"When I talk about Yash Dayal, it's a floating spot when the 15 are announced because Mohammed Shami will not be available for the tournament.
"He's one bowler that if you need someone to bowl up, you have Yash Dayal. If you want a back-end bowler and if Siraj's form is spotty, he can be used there as well," Zaheer told Jio Cinema.
Zaheer also selected Delhi Capitals' captain Pant as the only wicket-keeper in his squad, overlooking others such as Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan.
"Rishabh Pant is my only wicket-keeper. I have given more importance to bringing four pace bowlers. You don't want to sacrifice a fast bowler for another wicketkeeper. You have options like KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, and many want to see Dinesh Karthik.
"At this point, we can consider Mahendra Singh Dhoni as well because of his strike rate! I think they'll focus on current players like Samson, KL Rahul, and maybe even Jitesh Sharma.
"If you're building a team for a month-long tournament, your travelling reserve can be your wicketkeeper."
Zaheer named 16 players in his squad, with the caveat that only one player between Gujarat Titans' captain Shubman Gill and Rajasthan Royals' opener Yashasvi Jaiswal will be selected as Rohit Sharma's opening partner.
"The toughest decision the selectors will have to make will be choosing one opener out of two terrific options. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, I think only one of them will make it because the think-tank will want flexibility in the team.
"A player can't be limited to just one role, they might need to move around the batting order."
Zaheer Khan's India squad for T20 World Cup:
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh
All-Rounders: Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja
Wicket-Keeper: Rishabh Pant
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Dayal, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.
