World Cup Squad: Selectors Go For Batting Depth, All-Rounders
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
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By Slogger
First publised on 2023-09-06 14:59:37
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Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
View all posts by this Author
The Indian team for the ODI World Cup in India later this year was announced on Tuesday. The fifteen selected to bring the Cup home are: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, K L Rahul (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya (Vice-Captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Shami and Mohd Siraj. It is a team drawn from the 17 now doing duty in Asia Cup with Pacer Prasidh Krishna and rookie Tilak Verma missing the bus.
Although the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has gone along expected lines and filled the team with all-rounders, there are some whose selection is bound to raise eyebrows. K L Rahul is returning after a long layoff. He does not have any competitive game under his belt. His current form is not known. But Agarkar feels that since Rahul kept wickets for 50 overs and batted for 50 overs too in a camp in Bangaluru, he makes the grade.
Then Suryakumar Yadav is yet to prove himself in the ODI format. But he is such a powerful player in Indian conditions that it is difficult to ignore him in shorter formats. He has the ability to destroy the opposition attack and even a short innings from him can swing the game in India's favour.
But India is sorely going to miss an off-spinner in home conditions. Ravichandran Ashwin would have been an asset and his absence is likely to hurt. He is not a minnow with the bat and to sacrifice him to select an all-rounder is bad policy. Batting depth is understandable but the team needs attacking bowlers too.
Shardul Thakur is branded an all-rounder but he has not proved his batting prowess. He has just 318 runs from 24 ODI innings at an average of 17 and with an unbeaten 50 against South Africa as his highest score. Clearly his batting does not inspire much confidence yet he was selected ahead of Prasidh Krishna.
Ultimately, the selectors go with the team that both the head coach and the captain are comfortable with. If Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma think that this is the best combination, so be it. It is hoped that all players will play to their potential and make maximum use of home conditions to try and bring the Cup home.
