Indian batters Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill during the Asia Cup match between India and Nepal, at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
Any ambiguity regarding KL Rahul’s inclusion in the World Cup squad was definitively cleared as the Karnataka cricketer was included in India’s 15-member squad for the marquee event in October. This despite the 31-year-old not having played any competitive cricket since May.
Rahul tore a tendon in his right thigh and had to undergo surgery mid-way through the Indian Premier League, and in his absence, Ishan Kishan has created quite the stir by putting up consistent batting performances for the side, including his 82-run show against Pakistan under trying circumstances.
So, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma will have the option of playing either one at a time given the opposition and left-right combination depending on what the bowling unit has to offer. The odds of the two featuring in the playing XI at the same time are slim.
As for the rest of the squad, save for the exclusion of Tilak Varma and Prasidh Krishna, there were no changes from the squad which was named for the ongoing Asia Cup. This means Sanju Samson, who was identified as a travelling reserve for the Asia Cup, will not feature in the World Cup either.
At a glance, the team does wear a fairly balanced look with Rohit at the helm and Shubhman Gill opening with him with Virat Kohli coming in at No.3. Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan and Rahul were named in that order with Suryakumar Yadav to follow.
In the space of bowling all-rounders, it begins with Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur. As for the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace unit alongside Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, while Kuldeep Yadav will be the only specialist spinner in the side.
A source, however, revealed that R Ashwin has been alerted by the management to stay on call should the need for an off-spinner arise during the course of the tournament. There was not even that sliver of hope for leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.
Balanced as it seems, at least three players in this squad are returning from injuries or just have recently. Even Hardik Pandya, who didn’t look all that comfortable while bowling against Nepal in India’s encounter on Monday, has only recently begun bowling full tilt.
That could well be a problem as the side traverses India during the course of the nine league games, but India have until September 28 to make changes to the squad without approval from the International Cricket Council.
Though the deadline to submit the squad is September 5, India can take a final call on the combination after reviewing their performance during the three One-Day Internationals against Australia after the Asia Cup. India’s campaign begins against Australia on October 8 at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, and the two-time champs will be looking to recreate the magic that was 2011. More importantly, they will want to end the decade-long wait for an ICC trophy to get the monkey off of their backs.