KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav have secured spots in India's World Cup 2023 squad, as announced by the Chairman of Selectors for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Ajit Agarkar, on Tuesday. Unfortunately, players such as Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravichandran Ashwin did not make it through the selection process.
The upcoming World Cup carries immense significance for India, as it offers a golden opportunity to clinch the coveted 50-over championship. India has come agonizingly close in the previous two editions, making this tournament all the more crucial. Adding to the excitement, history will be made as India hosts the entire tournament for the very first time, elevating the stakes even higher.
After enduring a challenging year filled with injuries and intermittent struggles, India now proudly boasts a squad of players who have successfully overcome their physical setbacks. This team is now free from the clutches of injury, ready to showcase their skills on the grand stage.
"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," Rohit Sharma said.
"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," chief selector Ajit Agarkar said.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (VC), Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
