ICC World Cup 2023 India Squad : A Look At The Players And Their Chances

India Squad for ICC World Cup 2023 announced by Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI on Tuesday 5 September 2023.

World Cup 2023 India Squad

India’s 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023:

• Batsmen: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav
• Wicket-keepers: Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul
• All-rounders: Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur
• Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav

India’s World Cup campaign will get underway against Australia on October 8 in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. The 1983 and 2011 World Cup Champions will then play Afghanistan on October 11, 2023, at the Arun Jaitley venue in Delhi, and Pakistan on October 14, 2023, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the largest cricket venue in the world.

Before playing their last league-stage encounter against the Netherlands on November 12, 2023, India will play their next five matches against Bangladesh, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, in that order.

K. L. Rahul, who has not played a match since May, has made the cut and Sanju Samson has been left out, while KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan provide excellent wicket-keeping options.

“K.L. is looking good. We feel this gives us the best balance to try and do well. K.L. was part of the camp in Bangalore, and he looked really good there. He 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.” Ajit Agarkar said after the announcement of the 15-member squad.

The three players who had made the trip to the Asia Cup but were unable to secure a berth in the provisional squad for the World Cup will be used as standbys: Prasidh Krishna, Tilak Varma, and Sanju Samson.

Jasprit Bumrah, who has shown no injury issues since his comeback, leads the bowling, with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj likely to be the first choice for the fast-bowling unit. The spin-bowling leading option is likely to come from the left-handed Kuldeep Yadav.

Since Axar Patel got the nod as the 3rd spinner, there won’t be any room for offspinner R. Ashwin who was part of the winning team in 2011 and Washington Sundar who is an all-rounder will feel aggrieved.

Fit again KL Rahul named in India’s strong squad for #CWC23 💪

More 👉 https://t.co/akl0gK26cO pic.twitter.com/IhP42KedyC

— ICC (@ICC) September 5, 2023

Ajit Agarkar said “Clearly there will be discussions given we have both Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel who spin the ball into left-handers. Both give us depth in batting, Kuldeep takes the ball away. In 50-over cricket, perhaps you would ideally want an off-spinner, but this gives us the best balance. Seamers tend to bowl a lot more in ODIs as compared to T20 cricket, and perhaps you are a little more under pressure if you don’t have an offie, so we are happy with the guys we have.”

India’s team was named just a few minutes before the team flew off to Colombo. Tuesday was the final day for submitting the final list to the ICC, but the team can be changed by September 28 for any reason. That gives the team management and selectors plenty of time to look at Rahul, Iyer and Bumrah’s match fitness.

All the teams have until 28 September to make any changes to the squad without providing any reasons, after that any alterations will be subject to approval from ICC.

The India squad is a strong one and will be one of the favorites to win the World Cup. They will be looking to improve on their performance in the 2019 World Cup, where they were knocked out in the semi-finals.

India’s World Cup campaign will get underway against Australia on October 8 in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. The 1983 and 2011 World Cup Champions will then play Afghanistan on October 11, 2023, at the Arun Jaitley venue in Delhi, and Pakistan on October 14, 2023, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the largest cricket venue in the world.

Before playing their last league-stage encounter against the Netherlands on November 12, 2023, India will play their next five matches against Bangladesh, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, in that order.

India Schedule for ICC World Cup 2023