The BCCI selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, is willing to wait until the final day, September 5, to unveil India’s preliminary squad for the ODI World Cup, despite the limited time available. Agarkar acknowledged that the squad would closely resemble the 17-member team, along with reserve Sanju Samson, chosen for the upcoming Asia Cup starting on August 30. However, former BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly has already disclosed his chosen 15 for the World Cup scheduled to begin on October 5.
In contrast to the Asia Cup lineup, Ganguly introduced two notable changes in his envisioned World Cup squad. The ex-India captain omitted young talent Tilak Varma, who had recently received his debut ODI call-up for the Asia Cup squad, impressing selectors with his remarkable performance in a five-match T20I series against the West Indies. Additionally, Ganguly excluded Prasidh Krishna, who made a comeback during the Ireland T20I series after a prolonged absence due to injury.
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Ganguly, however, included three backup players in his lineup, with Yuzvendra Chahal among them. The spinner attracted attention after being left out of the Asia Cup squad, given that only one spinner, Kuldeep Yadav, was accommodated by selectors.
Sourav Ganguly explained, “If one of the middle-order batters gets unfit, then Tilak Varma. One of the pacers gets unfit then Prasidh Krishna and Yuzvendra Chahal for spinners.”
According to tournament guidelines, all participating World Cup teams, including India, must submit their provisional squads by September 5. So far, only Australia has announced its preliminary squad. Teams retain the flexibility to make multiple changes to their initial roster before finalizing the list by September 27.
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The ODI World Cup will commence on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, featuring a clash between defending champions England and New Zealand, reprising the 2019 final. India’s first match is scheduled against five-time winners Australia on October 8 in Chennai.
Sourav Ganguly’s 15-member India squad for ODI World Cup:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
