India announces 15-member squad for Cricket World Cup 2023; KL Rahul in, Samson out

Kandy [Sri Lanka]: Indian captain Rohit Sharma and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the 15-member squad for the ICC men’s Cricket World Cup on Tuesday here in Kandy.

The squad is almost the same as the Asia Cup squad, Tilak Varma and Prasidh Krishna are excluded from the side.

India is going with four seamers Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Mohammed Siraj while three spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.

Rahul injured his thigh earlier in the year at the IPL, though has been training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, and will likely join his India teammates during the latter stages of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. With Rahul in the squad, Sanju Samson has missed out, as well as Tilak Varma and Prasidh Krishna as other omissions.

Captain Rohit Sharma leads the batting group, with Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav all named, as well as Ishan Kishan who provides another keeping option. All-rounders Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur have also been named in an emphasis on batting options.

After showing no signs of injury upon his return, Jasprit Bumrah spearheads the bowling group, with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj likely the first-choice pace group. Kuldeep Yadav is the side’s leading spin option.

The World Cup commences on Thursday, October 5 when 2019 finalists England and New Zealand clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the event culminating in the final at the same venue on Sunday, 19 November. India will start its campaign with a match against Australia in Chennai on October 8.

Ten teams will feature in this biggest Cricket World Cup ever, to be played across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final. The event will feature 48 matches to be played across 46 days.

The venues other than Ahmedabad and Chennai are Bengaluru, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. While Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram will join Hyderabad in hosting the practice games.

Eight teams have qualified for the 46-day event through the Cricket World Cup Super League while the final two spots were decided by the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier taking place in Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands grabbed the two final spots in the tournament.

The top four teams will qualify for the semifinals, to be played in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16. The final will be on November 19 in Ahmedabad. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.

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