India’s Probable 15-Man Squad For The ODI World Cup 2023
New Delhi: India will be eying a win in the ODI series against Australia to get the much-needed confidence before the World Cup. India don’t play a lot of ODIs before the marquee event. They have a series scheduled against West Indies in July-August where they will play 3 ODIs. Asia Cup is also scheduled to take place in September this year but there is a big question mark on whether India will take part in the tournament or not.
India coach Rahul Dravid recently said that the selectors have zeroed in on 17-18 players for the mega event in India. There are many players fighting for the 15 slots in the World Cup squad and today we will look at the front runners who can find a place in the ODI World Cup squad for the Rohit Sharma-led side.
Batters – When we talk about batters, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill are almost certain to feature in the squad. Shubman Gill has cemented his place in the team owing to staggering performances in recent times. Shreyas Iyer is battling with injury but he should recover and find a place in the team. Suryakumar Yadav has had a poor outing in the ODIs he has played this year which has massively dented his chances.
Wicket-Keepers – There are plenty of players competing for the two spots in team India. KL Rahul has been going through a lean patch and is battling with Ishan Kishan and possibly Sanju Samson for a spot in the team. Given his experience, KL Rahul should retain his place. The BCCI has backed Ishan Kishan while Samson has not been given many chances, which is a big indication that the selectors are more keen on getting Kishan onboard as he will give them an option of an opener as well. Rishabh Pant obviously won’t be available after a severe accident last year.
All-Rounders – India have a plethora of all-rounders to choose from. Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya will be part of the team. Axar Patel has also done enough to find a place in the team. It will be interesting to see how Washington Sundar and R Ashwin perform in the IPL. Given Ashwin’s record in India, if he has a great IPL, he can be considered by the selectors.
Spinners – Along with Jadeja, Ashwin and Axar, India will need a specialist spinner and it will be a toss-up between Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. It will boil down to the spinners’ performance in IPL but given that Kuldeep is a left-arm chinamen and will bring the ball into the right-handers, unlike Chahal, who will take the ball away, just like Axar and Jadeja.
Pacers – With Bumrah injured, India will back Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. For the third pacer, Shardul Thakur is a good option, along with Deepak Chahar. Both Shardul and Chahar add a lot of depth to the batting. Umesh Yadav can be considered if Chahar has a bad IPL since he is returning from injury.
India’s probable squad for ODI World Cup – Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.
Standby: Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal