The Indian team recently announced their 15-man World Cup squad that will take part in cricket's most prestigious tournament in the United Kingdom beginning from May 30. The main surprise of the selection was the exclusion of young wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu.
Pant and Rayudu's exclusion from the squad of 15 had created quite a stir on Monday. While Sunil Gavaskar called Pant's omission surprising, the snub to Rayudu was questioned by Gautam Gambhir.
Left-handed batsman Pant, veteran batsman Ambati Rayudu were Wednesday named among the standbys for India's World Cup squad, reigniting their dashed hopes of making the trip to the UK in case an injury setback hits the side.
Speedster Navdeep Saini also found a place in the list of three back-ups for the mega-event starting on May 30.
With the ICC having done away with the probables list, the BCCI does have the provision of including anyone apart from these three but it is unlikely to happen.
"Just like ICC Champions Trophy, we have three standbys. Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu are the first and second standbys while Saini is the bowler in the list. So if anyone gets injured, as per requirement, one of the three will be going," a senior BCCI official told PTI on Wednesday.
Rayudu took to Twitter to take a dig at his omission from the squad of 15 on Tuesday.
"Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup," Rayudu wrote on his twitter handle Tuesday.
This was after the chairman of selectors MSK Prasad justified preferring Vijay Shankar over Rayudu, citing the former's "three-dimensional qualities".
While Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan and Deepak Chahar will be travelling with the team purely as net bowlers, they can also be drafted in if the team management feels so. Saini too is among the reserves travelling with the team.
"Khaleel, Avesh and Deepak are not designated stand bys. In case of bowlers, that possibility is there but when it comes purely to batsmen, it will be either Rishabh or Rayudu."
Meanwhile, there will be no Yo-Yo Test in all likelihood for the World Cup bound players as IPL is going to only end on May 12.
"The players are already in the midst of a gruelling T20 season. Once IPL ends, they will need recovery time. It's not like that there is a gap between two series and you are having a test. If you are tired, the results may vary," the official added.
(With PTI inputs)
