India World Cup 2023 squad: KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan inducted; Samson, Chahal, Ashwin out
The Rohit Sharma-led side will be having Hardik Pandya as the vice captain. R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tilak Varma, and Prasidh Krishna were not included in the squad.
- Sep 5, 2023,
- Updated Sep 5, 2023 2:16 PM IST
India have named its 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup, which will start in October. The team will include: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
The Rohit Sharma-led side will be having Hardik Pandya as the vice captain. Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul have also been included in the team. Kishan has retained his place as one of two wicketkeeper-batters in the squad along with Rahul.
But Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravichandran Ashwin have been excluded from the team.
Speaking about the selected team, Ajith Agarkar, BCCI chairman of selectors, said India are not going to change their 15-member squad unless there are any injuries.
"We have a pool of 17 players, including Rahul, and we have contingency plans in place. Our focus is on selecting the 15 individuals who can successfully complete the task at hand. KL Rahul has played a couple of games over the last two days and kept wicket for whole 50 overs. He should be ready. As for spinners, there were discussions and both offer depth in batting and bowling and they take the ball away. We ideally wanted an off-spinner but this gives balance. We are quite happy with the bowlers we have," Agarkar said on Tuesday.
He added: "We had a couple of fitness issues that we had to look at, but all three [Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer] who had long-term injuries have come through," India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar said. "KL is looking good. We feel this gives us the best balance to try and do well. With KL he was part of the camp in Bangalore, he looked really good there has got over his niggle. He played a couple of games over the last two days. I think he kept for 50 overs and batted for around 50 overs too, so he looks good and we're happy to have him."
Rahul, who played his last ODI in March 2023, tore a tendon in his right thigh during the IPL 2023 and had to undergo surgery in May. He was also selected in the Asia Cup squad.
India captain Rohit Sharma said the 50-over format is different. "The format of playing 9 league games (we played it in 2019) is unique. There's always change to make a comeback. We saw how England did it and won the World Cup last year. It does give you extra time to thingk about combinations, teams' strategies and plans. It gives you breathing space," said Sharma.
He added: "We explored every conceivable avenues and possibilities to assemble the strongest team. It's inevitable that some players will miss out on World Cup selection. With the wealth of talent available in India, narrowing it down to just 15 players is a challenging task. We believe we have selected the best possible squad of 15."
India open its World Cup campaign on October 8, when it faces Australia at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Also read: 'Don't take fans for granted', says Venkatesh Prasad amid shortage of World Cup 2023 tickets
Also read: ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023: BCCI announces BookMyShow as official ticketing platform
India have named its 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup, which will start in October. The team will include: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
The Rohit Sharma-led side will be having Hardik Pandya as the vice captain. Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul have also been included in the team. Kishan has retained his place as one of two wicketkeeper-batters in the squad along with Rahul.
But Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravichandran Ashwin have been excluded from the team.
Speaking about the selected team, Ajith Agarkar, BCCI chairman of selectors, said India are not going to change their 15-member squad unless there are any injuries.
"We have a pool of 17 players, including Rahul, and we have contingency plans in place. Our focus is on selecting the 15 individuals who can successfully complete the task at hand. KL Rahul has played a couple of games over the last two days and kept wicket for whole 50 overs. He should be ready. As for spinners, there were discussions and both offer depth in batting and bowling and they take the ball away. We ideally wanted an off-spinner but this gives balance. We are quite happy with the bowlers we have," Agarkar said on Tuesday.
He added: "We had a couple of fitness issues that we had to look at, but all three [Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer] who had long-term injuries have come through," India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar said. "KL is looking good. We feel this gives us the best balance to try and do well. With KL he was part of the camp in Bangalore, he looked really good there has got over his niggle. He played a couple of games over the last two days. I think he kept for 50 overs and batted for around 50 overs too, so he looks good and we're happy to have him."
Rahul, who played his last ODI in March 2023, tore a tendon in his right thigh during the IPL 2023 and had to undergo surgery in May. He was also selected in the Asia Cup squad.
India captain Rohit Sharma said the 50-over format is different. "The format of playing 9 league games (we played it in 2019) is unique. There's always change to make a comeback. We saw how England did it and won the World Cup last year. It does give you extra time to thingk about combinations, teams' strategies and plans. It gives you breathing space," said Sharma.
He added: "We explored every conceivable avenues and possibilities to assemble the strongest team. It's inevitable that some players will miss out on World Cup selection. With the wealth of talent available in India, narrowing it down to just 15 players is a challenging task. We believe we have selected the best possible squad of 15."
India open its World Cup campaign on October 8, when it faces Australia at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Also read: 'Don't take fans for granted', says Venkatesh Prasad amid shortage of World Cup 2023 tickets
Also read: ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023: BCCI announces BookMyShow as official ticketing platform