New Delhi:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup, 2019 which is scheduled to be played in England and Wales. The premier 50-over tournament will begin on May 30 and the final will be played on July 14.
The ‘Men in Blue’ will play their first game against Proteas on June 5 at Rose Bowl, Southampton. The cricket fraternity around the world is hoping for India-England final at Lords, London.
With this, News Nation brings to you the probable eleven for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England. The sample and record are based on the performance of the side from the series in England till the end of the April 11 game in the Indian Premier League. The reason for choosing England as the starting point is that the World Cup will be held in the country after 20 years while even the IPL will be considered as form and confidence can spread to all formats.
Top three- Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
These three names select themselves in any squad. Dhawan and Rohit are the most prolific opening pair in ODI history behind Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Dhawan and Rohit raise their game in major ICC tournaments, with Dhawan, in particular, being the man for ICC tournaments. Rohit is one of the best ODI players in the world. As far as Virat Kohli is concerned, the name speaks for itself. He became the fastest to 10,000 and has scored over 40 ODI tons. As captain, Kohli’s batting will be the key to India’s success.
No.4 - KL Rahul
Ambati Rayudu was India’s first choice for the number four spot after his superlative performance against West Indies in the home series. However, he wasn’t able to continue his run in Australia and New Zealand, which weakened his case. KL Rahul, on the other hand, has had a sensational IPL and he showed why he has been rated highly in the cricketing fraternity.
Lower-Middle Order – MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja
Seeing the form MS Dhoni is in, Virat Kohli and the team management will back him at that spot. In past, Indian team has suffered collapses, MS Dhoni can help in rescuing India from that position. Further, Dhoni will be followed by Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Bowlers – Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
In all of India’s success in Australia and New Zealand, the bowlers played a massive part in the victory in Tests and ODIs. Bumrah is the No.1 bowler in the world and he has consistently shown his class in the last year across formats. He will be India’s strike bowler. Mohammed Shami has shown his ability in IPL 2019 and was India’s stand-out bowler in the powerplay and in the death overs in Australia and New Zealand. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, the leg-spinning duo, can take wickets in any conditions. Depending upon the conditions, either Kuldeep or Chahal must be a certainty in the playing XI. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, on the other hand, hasn’t had the best of IPL and is likely to start on bench.
News Nation’s Probable XI squad:
Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Here’s 15-member squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja
