Cricket - New Delhi's pride Rishabh Pant back in India squad for T20 World Cup; KL Rahul dropped
NEW DELHI (AFP): Cricket superstar Rishabh Pant was named on Tuesday in India's squad for the T20 World Cup in June, his first return to international cricket after a horror car crash in late 2022.

The 26-year-old Pant, a wicketkeeper-batsman, was named to the squad in a press release on Tuesday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) alongside captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Hardik Pandya.

In the eagerly awaited announcement by millions of fans, India said they have included wicketkeeper-batsman Pant in their 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States in June.

Pant was involved in a near-fatal crash in December 2022 that required him to have multiple surgeries and he missed last year's Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as India's 50-overs World Cup campaign on home soil.

The 26-year-old has slowly returned to his best after his comeback in this year's IPL, scoring three fifties and racking up 398 runs in 11 matches to convince selectors.

The Delhi Capitals skipper was not the only player rewarded for his IPL form, as Chennai Super Kings batsman Shivam Dube also made the squad after scoring 350 runs in nine matches.

Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan were among the reserves, but there was no place for wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul.

India will be led by Rohit Sharma as they bid for a second title in the June 1-29 tournament following their triumph in the inaugural edition in 2007.

They made the semi-finals two years ago in Australia, losing to eventual champions England.

India begin their campaign against Ireland in Group A, with the match to be played in New York on June 5.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj. Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
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Cricket superstar Rishabh Pant was named on Tuesday in India's squad for the T20 World Cup in June, his first return to international cricket after a horror car crash in late 2022.