India 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Squad Announcement

BCCI’s senior selection committee led by former allrounder Ajit Agarkar has announced the preliminary 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup to be played at home. The two-time champion team will be led by Rohit Sharma, his first 50-over World Cup as a captain. A veteran of three ODI World Cups, Sharma will have allrounder Hardik Pandya as his deputy. India will resume their campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8 after playing a couple of warm-up games against England and Netherlands respectively.

India have retained 8 players from the 2019 World cup squad giving World cup debuts to 7 players. Virat Kohli will step in as the most experienced player of the lot entering in his 4th World cup in the 50-over format. Kohli previously captained the team to the semifinals of the 2019 edition.
India Squad for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup:

1. Rohit Sharma (Captain)
2. Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain)
3. Shubman Gill
4. Virat Kohli
5. Shreyas Iyer
6. Ishan Kishan
7. KL Rahul
8. Suryakumar Yadav
9. Ravindra Jadeja
10. Axar Patel
11. Shardul Thakur
12. Jasprit Bumrah
13. Mohd. Shami
14. Mohd. Siraj
15. Kuldeep Yadav

India World Cup squad comprises of 7 pure batters. Skipper Rohit Sharma will open the batting alongside Shubman Gill who has been the team’s highest run scorer in the format in the last one-year scoring 1015 runs in his last 20 innings at an average of 59.7. Gill is also India’s highest ranked batter in the ICC ODI rankings as the number 3 batter in the world. Kohli comes next at number 10. Designated wicketkeepers Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul are also named in the squad, both the players have shown their class in given opportunities and can bat anywhere in the top and middle order giving the team the required flexibility. Rahul was part of the previous edition as well and is making a comeback after a long-term injury. Kishan has scored 776 runs in his 19-match ODI career at an impressive average of 48.5.

Former captain Kohli will take the number 3 slot and will hope that he finds his batting prime once again. In his previous 13 knocks, Kohli has scored 558 runs averaging 46.5. This calendar year, his strike rate (114.9) has been the best in a 15-year long career.
Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer will take the number 4 spot in the order. Iyer scored 724 runs at an astonishing average of 55.69 in 2022 but missed majority of cricket in the current year due to an injury. Having made a comeback in the Asia cup, Iyer has plenty of opportunities to find his form back before the World cup.

The weak link in the squad is the inclusion of Suryakumar Yadav. He might be a great addition in the T20I squad but in ODIs, his form has been nothing close to the talent he possesses. With an average of 24.33 in 26 ODIs and a poor string of form which includes three ducks in a row against Australia, only selectors know what they were looking for in Suryakumar for the World cup. His selection in World Cup and if he gets a chance in any match will be more of hope to come good than strategy.

India World Cup squad has four allrounders. Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur bowl medium pace and Axar Patel alongside Ravindra Jadeja offer a like-for-like left arm spin bowling option. A veteran of 52 ODIs spanning from 2014 till now, Axar has used the number of opportunities he has got in the absence of first-choice left-arm spinner Jadeja picking 13 wickets in 14 matches since January 2022. Adding the left-handed batting option in the middle order, Patel has batted from number 4 and 9 accumulating 232 runs with 2 fifties in the time period.

Hardik Pandya the vice-captain of the team and now the unofficial regular skipper of the T20I team, has had good amount of success since his comeback from a big back injury. He found his captaincy flare in the IPL leading the Gujarat Titans successfully to their maiden title and also led the team to the finals in his 2nd season as captain. In ODIs, he has found his mojo yet again scoring 467 runs and taking 17 wickets since 2022. His knock of 87 against Pakistan in the Asia cup opener put India in a solid position after early struggles. Pandya is someone who can bowl at any stage of the match and strike for the team. His batting strike rate is nearing a-run-a-ball, another positive sign for the middle order. Pandya is also the only Indian allrounder in the top 10 allrounders in the ICC ODI rankings placed at number 10.

Another force in the lineup is Ravindra Jadeja. He sat out of the limited-overs team for a slightly longer period due to injury. In the 8 innings he has featured as a bowler since 2022, he has scalped 9 wickets at an economy of just 4.5 building pressure on the opposition batters with his tidy bowling and sharp fielding. His attacking batting exploits have helped India on numerous occasions across the 3 formats. A veteran of 179 ODIs and 197 wickets, Jadeja will be India’s lead spinner in the tournament.

Picked as a medium pace bowler initially, Shardul Thakur has made his name for himself with some impactful batting performances as well. Having taken the most number of wickets as a fast bowler in the middle overs since January 2022, Thakur has hit 211 runs with a fifty and a strike rate of 93.3 since 2022. He is India’s 2nd leading wicket taker with 37 wickets in 24 innings since 2022 after Kuldeep Yadav’s 37 wicket. His presence in the team will be a good headache to have for the leadership group.

Jasprit Bumrah's availability is a big boost for the men in blue for the World Cup. Bumrah has been named in the squad after a long back injury which ruled him out of action for almost a year. He has the number 8 ranked Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Shami to share the pace bowling duties besides having the services of Pandya and Thakur. Kuldeep Yadav who bowls left arm unorthodox is the spearhead of spin department making the Indian slow bowling attack comprising of 3 left-handed bowlers.

Mohammed Siraj has been a terrific find for India across formats. He is the 9th highest wicket taker in the world since 2022 and has picked 46 wickets at an average of 19.04 and a strike rate of 24.2. Siraj also has the most number of wickets in the first 10 overs since 2022 and provides India with the early breakthroughs. His ability to operate in any phase of the match to bowl long spells would be special to watch.

Jasprit Bumrah has waited a long time to play ODI cricket. He returned to play three T20Is against Ireland but only bowled 8 overs as the 3rd game was washed out. In the Asia cup opener against Pakistan, the whole 2nd innings was washed out and in the game against Nepal, Bumrah was absent as he became a father. He sure has less overs behind his back but the ability to take wickets in Indian conditions especially in the death overs where the men in blue have lacked to perform is going to be useful. Playing just 6 matches since 2022, Bumrah has 13 wickets with his career best 6/19 against England coming last year.

Mohammad Shami will bring pace, bounce and experience with him in the line up. A veteran of 2 World Cups, Shami has impeccable control over the seam, line, length and pace. Out of his 163 ODI wickets, 55 have been picked in India. He also has 15 wickets in 12 matches since 2022 and after getting an extended break after the World Test Championship final, Shami will be fresh, fit and raring to go to lift the trophy for the country.

Kuldeep Yadav will have the responsibility of the spin attack which he will share with Axar and Jadeja. Kuldeep has been the best spinner for India in the format since 2022 with 34 wickets in 20 innings. His average and strike rate lies in the mid 20s with the economy rate also staying under 6. With some increased pace in his arsenal and wonderful control over the wrong ‘un, Kuldeep can be a big trouble in the opposition’s ranks in home conditions that usually favor spinners.

The Indian bowling lineup also has the 2nd best strike rate after Sri Lanka since 2022. Thanks to the heroics of Siraj and other opening bowlers, India is the best team with a strike rate of 33.5 in the first 10 overs. India also has the best strike rate in the middle overs with Kuldeep Yadav taking the most (34) number of scalps. Thakur is number 5 with 26 wickets to his name.