Hosts India have announced their squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which featured major, though not entirely unexpected, omissions such as Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal.
India unveiled their 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup on Tuesday (September 5). With just one month remaining until the month-long spectacle kicks off on October 5 and concludes on November 19, all eyes were on the press conference where the Men in Blue's team selection was confirmed.
Here's the #TeamIndia squad for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 🙌#CWC23 pic.twitter.com/EX7Njg2Tcv
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 5, 2023
However, all participating teams will have until September 28 to make any alterations or replacements in their squads due to injuries or other reasons for unavailability.
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (Vice-Captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav.
The 15-man squad turned out to be quite predictable, with not many shocking additions or exclusions. The only noteworthy players missing out on a chance to represent the Blues in the major tournament are:
Team India Might Miss These Players in Big Matches Situation.
— KAPIL DEV TAMRAKAR 🇮🇳🚀𝕏🌖 (@kapildevtamkr) September 5, 2023
But Hope India Manages to Get THE Trophy with the Present Squad.#Worldcup2023 #CWC23#ICCWorldCup2023 #CWC #TeamIndia #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/MSmynhIT3E
Hardik Pandya, the versatile talent, assumes the role of Rohit Sharma's second-in-command in India's 15-member squad unveiled on Tuesday.
Pandya's all-around prowess was deemed "crucial" by Sharma. The captain even went so far as to say that Pandya's performance holds the key to India's World Cup aspirations.
Rohit Sharma said - "Hardik Pandya is very important for us. He gives us perfect balance. He is complete package. His form is very very crucial for us. The way he bat against Pakistan was exceptional, he showed his maturity". pic.twitter.com/lMWTeu60oF
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) September 5, 2023
India will kickstart their World Cup campaign with a face-off against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8, 2023.