The ICC World Cup 2019 is just round the corner and ahead of it, on Monday, team India have announced the 15-member squad for the World Cup that is going to take place in England and Wales.
Eleven players are selected due to their experience and performance — Virat Kohli (captain), MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Kedar Jadhav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Vijay Shankar are the players selected for the remaining four spots which led Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu to miss out the 2019 ICC World Cup.
The opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma is set to open the innings for team India in England while KL Rahul can be used as a back-up. With 363 runs, Shikhar Dhawan was India’s top-scorer during the 2013 Champions Trophy win in England. Two years ago, he aggregated 338 while Rohit Sharma totalled 304 in five matches even though India lost to Pakistan in the final.
While captain Kohli will be batting at number 3, Dinesh Karthik , Kedar Jadhav or KL Rahul can be considered for the hotly debated number 4 slot.
Like fine wine, Dhoni is getting better with age as he was named the man of the series in Australia earlier this year. The wicket-keeper-batsman has four fifties in eight ODIs this year.
Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Vijay Shankar are the three all-rounders who have made it to the 15-member squad of team India for the World Cup. Considering the current form of Hardik Pandya in IPL 2019, he is expected to be the first priority of team India for the World Cup while Ravindra Jadeja leads Ravichandran Ashwin in the race for the third spinner’s slot.
The spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal has impressed the selectors and Kuldeep Yadav will be leading the spin department and will be accompanied by Yuzvendra Chahal.
The Indian pace bowling attack is very sharp and aggressive this time with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Sourav Ganguly termed the current Indian pace attack as ‘fantastic’ and said the duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will play a crucial role during the World Cup.
Team India full squad for ICC World Cup 2019:
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar.
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Batsmen:
- Virat Kohli (c) (Innings 219, Runs 10843)
- Rohit Sharma (vc) (Innings 200, Runs 8010)
- Shikhar Dhawan (Innings 127, Runs 5355)
- KL Rahul (Innings 13, Runs 343)
Wicket-keeper:
- MS Dhoni (Innings 289, Runs 10500, Catches 314, Stumps 120)
- Dinesh Karthik (Innings 77, Runs 1738, Catches 61, Stumps 7)
All-rounders:
- Hardik Pandya (Matches 45, Runs 731, Wickets 44)
- Ravindra Jadeja (Matches 151, Runs 2035, Wickets 174)
- Kedar Jadhav (Matches 59, Runs 1174, Wickets 27)
- Vijay Shankar (Matches 9, Runs 165, Wickets 2)
Bowlers:
- Mohammed Shami (Innings 62, Wickets 113)
- Jasprit Bumrah (Innings 49, Wickets 85)
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Innings 104, Wickets 118)
- Kuldeep Yadav (Innings 42, Wickets 87)
- Yuzvendra Chahal (Innings 40, Wickets 72)
World Cup 2019 starts on May 30. India will start their campaign against South Africa on June 5.
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