The Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) have announced their 15-man squad for the ODI World Cup 2023. Most notable absentees are the likes of Sanju Samson, Shikhar Dhawan and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.
Chahal has been in and out of the Indian side and was last seen playing in the T20Is against the West Indies. Chahal last played an ODI in January this year but the with rise of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel's batting ability, the former has been axed from the World Cup squad.
Former World Cup winner and ace spinner Harbhajan Singh was surprised by the omission of Chahal. He tweeted on X, formerly Twitter -
Surprise not to see @yuzi_chahal in the World Cup squad for Team India. pure Match winner
During the press conference, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma said the decision to go with Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel was purely down to the team's desire to attain balance in the side.
"We need to create that depth (in batting and bowling) as it was lacking in our team for the last few years. When we talk about depth in batting, that No. 9, No. 8 positions become very crucial," said Rohit.
Rohit also said that the likes of Shardul and Axar would add some runs in the backend of the innings which could be a deciding factor in the game.
"In the first game here (against Pakistan) we saw that we fell short in the backend. We want tailenders to contribute too.
"Another 10-15 runs in that game would have made a difference. It is the margin between winning and losing. We have spoken to them and told them to don that role too in the WC," said Rohit.
India's Cricket World Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.
