The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday, September 5, announced the 15-member Team India squad for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 to be played in the country from October 5 onwards.
India will be hosting the ICC World Cup for the third time overall but for the first time as a solo host.
The tournament will kick off on October 5 with last edition’s finalists England and New Zealand clashing at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad. India will play its first match of the tournament on October 8th against Australia in Chennai.
Their big-ticket match against Pakistan will be played on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
Meanwhile, all eyes were on the provisional Indian team squad for the World Cup 2023, as fans and experts wanted to see which players had been shortlisted to be given enough match time before the tournament began.
As per ICC guidelines, the World Cup provisional squad has to be submitted by September 5, and then unlimited changes can be made to that squad before submitting the finalized 15-member squad for the tournament on September 28.
There are not many surprises in the Indian provisional squad for the ICC event. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Ishan Kishan have been picked as the opening options for the Indian team with Rohit captaining the side.
Virat Kohli will be the backbone of the middle order and India is bolstered with the return of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in the middle. Rahul will also be the wicketkeeping choice as well along with Ishan Kishan.
The selectors have shown faith in Suryakumar Yadav’s abilities to change the course of the game with his aggressive play, which will be needed with teams like Australia and England playing cricket in 5th gear.
As for the all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Akshar Patel are the spin all-rounders and Hardik Pandya is the pace-bowling allrounder and was also named the vice-captain of the side. Shardul Thakur has also been named in the squad to bolster both the batting and pace department.
Kuldeep Yadav is the lone specialist spinner in the squad.
The pacer bowling department has the three best fast bowlers India has to offer in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Mohammed Siraj.
Team India squad for the ICC World Cup 2023:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (WK), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj
