Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly came up with his set of players who could play for India in the upcoming World Cup. The former BCCI president snubbed the trio of Sanju Samson, Prasidh Krishna, and Tilak Varma who are currently part of the Asia Cup squad. India will start their World Cup campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.
The Bengal-based player selected Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Suryakumar Yadav as his batting options. To fill the wicketkeeping slot, he opted for Ishan Kishan in the squad.
Ganguly included Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja as specialist all-rounders while in the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur made a cut. The former India skipper also named three backup options if any of these players are ruled out for any reason.
“If one of the batters gets injured then Tilak Varma can enter, while if the pacer gets injured then it's Prasidh Krishna, while in the case of spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal is the option," Ganguly told Star Sports.
Earlier, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar picked his bunch of players who could play in India’s playing XI against Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. The former batter opted for three mainstream pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami while Hardik Pandya would be his fourth bowling option.
“My three seamers would be Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami. Hardik Pandya would be my fourth seamer. My spinners would be (Ravindra) Jadeja and Kuldeep (Yadav). My opener would be Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. No. 3 batter would be Virat Kohli. KL Rahul would play because he is the keeper,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
Sourav Ganguly's India's ICC World Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.