The much awaited day has come and all the major questions have been answered by MSK PRASAD & team. There have been a few surprises in the world cup squad but one has to say that they have made the right decision in the end.
15- Member World cup squad
- Virat Kohli(Captain)
- Rohit Sharma(Vice Captain)
- Shikhar Dhawan
- M S Dhoni
- K L Rahul
- Kedar Jadhav
- Hardik Pandya
- Yuzvendra Chahal
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Mohammed Shami
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Vijay Shankar
- Dinesh Karthik
The core has been retained and there are no surprises in it. The likes of Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli, Dhoni, Kedar, Hardik, Bhuvneshwar, Shami, Bumrah, Kuldeep, and Chahal all pick themselves in the team. The major question was who would be the other 4 members of the squad and the selectors have given answers for that.
There have been lots of talks about who should be the backup wicket keeper for Dhoni and the answer for that is Dinesh Karthik. Rishabh Pant was the other possible option but selectors have gone with Dinesh Karthik who is a tried and tested customer. When asked about the exclusion of Pant, MSK Prasad told that Dinesh Karthik has been selected on the merit of his wicket-keeping skills to go with his batting. Many experts around the world have been saying Rishabh Pant can be an X-factor for India in the world cup since India lack a quality left-handed batsmen in their middle order but the selectors had other ideas.
The other aspect of this India squad is that they have left out Ambati Rayudu
which could mean that there are no specialist number 4 batsmen for India going into this world cup since KL Rahul has been named as a backup opener.
All the issues regarding the number 4 position have been solved and it is quite clear that either one of Kedar, Vijay Shankar or Dhoni will take up the number 4 slot according to the situation of the match and we can never forget the option of Kohli himself at number 4 by playing Rahul at number 3.
The only factor that might be worrying is the omission of Rayudu, after having played him for the whole of last season at number 4 he was expected to be in the squad but it wasn’t to be.
The last two surprising packages were in the form of Vijay Shankar and Ravindra Jadeja. Both Vijay Shankar and Jadeja are three-dimensional players and that could well be the factor which could have tempted selectors to pick them up in the squad. Both are terrific fielders and Jadeja, in particular, has a very good record in English conditions with the ball. There were no major unexpected names in the squad. The selectors have opted for players who can offer more on the field and not only with the bat and ball.
My Probable playing XI
- Shikhar Dhawan
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli
- Kedar Jadhav
- M S Dhoni(WK)
- Vijay Shankar
- Hardik Pandya
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Mohammed Shami
- Yuzvendra Chahal
- Jasprit Bumrah
The above playing 11 has as many as 7 bowling options so that if any bowler has an off day, it could well be covered for. The captain Virat Kohli also has the luxury of bringing in Kuldeep in place of Shami if the pitch offers more for spinners.
This Indian Squad at first sight should give happiness and joy to every Indian fans and this squad has all the potential and capacity to give Dhoni a fitting end to his career.
Bala'Blog 