India has selected 15 players for their home campaign at the ICC World Cup 2023. The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed their squad on Tuesday, September 5. Rohit Sharma will lead a 15-member team, with Hardik Pandya as his deputy. KL Rahul’s entry into the team and participation in its World Cup opener against Australia on October 8 is of significant note.

Rahul sustained an injury during the IPL earlier this year and has been training at Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy and passing their fitness test. He is now in Sri Lanka with his teammates to prepare for the Super 4 match versus Pakistan at the Asia Cup. Sanju Samson has left the team following Rahul’s inclusion, while Tilak Varma and Prasidh Krsna have also been disbanded.

Ishan Kishan is another option for keeping, while all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, and Axar Patel provide variety. Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bhumrah will likely form the primary pace group. At the same time, Kuldeep Yadav serves as the set to act as team spinner.

India 15-player squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.

All the teams have until September 28 to make any changes to the squad, after which any alterations will be subject to approval from ICC.

The Key Takeaways Of India’s World Cup Team Announcement

India has announced their 15-member team for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. As was expected, the World Cup roster is an edited-down version of that used for the Asia Cup; three players – Tilak Krishna, Prasidh Samson, and Sanju Samuel- are absent.

India will select Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Captain Rohit Sharma as its top three batsmen; the middle order will feature Shreya Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Yadav Suryakumar as middle-order players, while Rahul and Kishan will serve as wicketkeepers.

Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Sharul Takur are among the all-rounder options on this team. At the same time, Jasprit Bhumrah leads their bowling unit, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj complete the pace group, and Kuldeep Yadav is spearheading spin options for them. Check out all the key takeaways of the India World Cup Squad revealed on Tuesday, September 5.

Here the final Squad of India for World Cup 2023

Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav

Rahul’s fitness had to be assessed as a batsman and wicketkeeper – two critical aspects for his team. Rahul’s star player support for middle-order cricket and fulfilling the duties of a wicketkeeper is essential. Rohit, Gill, and Kohli had already provided Rohul with many options at top-order batting positions; therefore, a middle-order opener like Rahul needed to bat in the middle order as part of his strategy.

Read Here About The India World Cup 2023 Squad Announcement

Team India World Cup Squad Live

Eleventh-Hour Blues India stands just a month away from participating in its maiden World Cup appearance. Currently, it finds itself in an unfortunate predicament, uncertain of its 11 most capable players, how their midfield is composed, or the fitness levels of crucial personnel returning from injury. Preliminaries to the World Cup were anything but exciting for Team India. 

Although their chances may improve on November 19 in Ahmedabad, euphoria is unlikely. Team India faces obvious issues; its middle order remains thin and unstable. Since Yuvraj Singh’s form-loss over a decade ago, India has struggled to produce a reliable number four player. Although some potential successors had been identified, such as KL Rahul or Shreyas, unfortunately, they have all injured themselves intentionally.

One can attribute their failures to poor planning, mismanagement, or rehab failures. Still, Jasprit Iyer and Rahul aren’t the only essential pieces in their World Cup puzzle: fast bowler Jasprit Bhumrah also returns after recovering from injury-induced absences.

What Are Selectors Looking For?

India’s National Selectors faced an arduous task in selecting Team India’s ODI World Cup Squad 2023. National selectors had to balance youthful enthusiasm and experienced expertise when choosing players to form this squad to guarantee energy, skills, and cricket knowledge across its ranks.

What Are The Selectors Looking For?

Rohit Sharma: No Pressure. Just My Best Performance

When asked by Ajit Agarkar if there was one particular name that was discussed, his response was: “No specific names have been discussed; however, we had to wait on some fitness issues from some players before selecting others; three players are recovering from long-term injuries while Rahul is rehabbing; then it comes down to selecting the strongest team.”

What Players Were Heard Out?

Ajit Agarkar stated, “Rahul was present, and coverage is in place. Fifteen individuals will suffice.”

KL Rahul has played two matches over the last two days and kept wicket throughout 50 overs, so it would be wise for him to prepare accordingly.

Ajit Agarkar on spinners: “After careful deliberation, both provided depth to both batting and bowling while taking away some ball from both. We would have preferred an off-spinner, but our current balance is acceptable.” “We are satisfied with our bowlers.”

Rohit Elaborated On 50 Overs Format

“50 Overs” is a unique format. League games provide plenty of opportunity for a comeback – look at England. You have time to plan and adjust combinations accordingly – for instance, to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, we had to beat both Pakistan and South Africa even though starting poorly, giving breathing space.” 50 Overs allows enough breathing room.

Rohit Sharma Discusses The Lack Of Depth In Batting

Our team lacks depth in bowling and batting; both aspects were critical in winning Asia Cup games – including being shot with the back of the bat. You soon realize this job of eight, nine, or ten players can make or break your victory or defeat, which could come down to as few as 10-20 runs difference between winning or losing an encounter.

What Would Happen If India Lost Another Spinner?

They would only bring three spinners for the World Cup; none can bowl part-time. Since 2011, spinners have always been part of India’s standard quota, with only the 2011 home edition exception. In 2011, India fielded a squad featuring multiple batters with spin bowling abilities: three specialist spinners and five part-timers (Anil Kapoor, Venkatapathy Raju, and Aashish Kapoor plus Sachin). By contrast, in 1996, they only had three such spinners (Anil Kapoor, Venkatapathy Raju and Aashish Kapoor). In 1987, India used three players – Maninder and Laxman, joined by Ravi Shastri – as critical members.

Kris Srikkanth could bowl off-spin with aggressive, low-slung action and proved pivotal to winning at home; spinners took 34 wickets during that tournament alone. India missed a spinner in 1987 and 1996 when they lost semi-final matches on surfaces deemed spin-friendly in Mumbai and Kolkata; thus, they could also lack an extra off-spinner this time round. 

Discussions ensued, and both players (Axar Jadeja and Ravindra Patel) proved valuable as both provided depth in both batting and pitching; both also took the ball, giving us balance as off-spinners would have given an edge against off-spinners. Ajit Agarkar, chief selector for the team, said, “We are pleased with our bowlers.”

Why did Sanju Samson lose out to Ishan Kishan?

Sanju Samson did not make India’s 15-man World Cup squad, and his fans cannot say he has been mistreated. Ishan has scored many impactful knocks over Samson.

Few Shocks to Come

Few surprises were to be had here. Sanju Samson and Tilak Vama, two members of the 17 + 1 reserve squad that traveled to Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup, will not feature amongst India’s 15 players selected for ODI World Cup 2019.

All the Squads for ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023

The squads are starting to roll in for this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India. All teams must finalize their 15-player squads before September 28, with any replacements after this date requiring approval from the ICC.

Afghanistan squad: Yet to be announced

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa. (three to be omitted) 

Bangladesh squad: Yet to be announced

England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

Also Read: ICC WORLD CUP INDIA 2023