Wasim Jaffer's ODI ODI World Cup team: The 2023 edition of ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 is set to be played in October-November window, later this year. As per the ODI World Cup 2023 schedule released by the ICC, a total of 48 matches will be played across 10 cities of India. Till date, the Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) has not picked India's official squad for 2023 ODI World Cup. Meanwhile, former Indian player and now a cricket expert, Wasim Jaffer, has picked his preferred India's 15-member squad for 2023 ODI World Cup. Notably, the cricketer-turned-commentator selected out-of-favor stars Shikhar Dhawan and Sanju Samson in his team.
After the Test series gets over, India will lock horns with West Indies in a three-match ODI series, with the first game to be played in Barbados on Thursday (July 27). Dhawan, who played his last match for the national team in December 2022, is not a part of India's 17-member squad picked for IND vs WI ODI series. Despite this, Jaffer picked Dhawan as a backup opener in India's ODI World Cup 2023 squad.
During a discussion on JioCinema, Jaffer chose Rohit, Shubman and Shikhar Dhawan as his three openers in his ODI World Cup 2023 Indian squad, elaborating:
"My three openers will be Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan. Even though Shikhar Dhawan is not going to be picked, I will keep him as the backup opener. Even if he doesn't play at the start, I am okay with that."
After that, Jaffer picked three spinners in his preferred playing XI, saying:
"After that, Virat Kohli at No. 3 obviously. Shreyas Iyer at No. 4, KL Rahul at No. 5 and Hardik Pandya at No. 6. Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav will be my three spinners in the XI."
"In my XI, I will have Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj/Mohammad Shami. I will play two seamers - Bumrah and Siraj. For me, it is very important that Hardik Pandya bowls because the World Cup is in India. Even if he doesn't bowl 10 overs and bowls seven-eight overs, it's enough for me."
Jaffer concluded by choosing Shardul and Samson as his other backup players:
"If he bowls, I will definitely try to play three spinners and I will definitely play both Axar and Jadeja because they are all-rounders. My third spinner will obviously be Kuldeep. My fourth seamer will be Shardul Thakur. Sanju Samson will be my backup keeper because I have already picked Shikhar as my third opener."