Team India World Cup Squad: During Team India’s practice camp in Bengaluru last week, coach Rahul Dravid invited the team to his home for dinner. That day the players stood with chief selector Ajit Agarkar and other support staff after coming out of the lift. Ishan Kishan looked the happiest among them. Why shouldn’t Ishan be happy, this is a good time for him. Three back-to-back half-centuries against the West Indies and an injury to the main wicket-keeping contender have given him a chance to cement his place in the middle order in the World Cup. It will start with the Asia Cup, where Team India is looking to try him at No.4 or No.5 against Pakistan and Nepal.
KL Rahul, who is recovering from a groin niggle, has been ruled out of the group stage of the Asia Cup. In such a situation, the Indian team management will try Ishan Kishan in the middle order. Though Sanju Samson has been sent with the team as Rahul’s reserve, his chances of getting a place in the World Cup squad are slim. Team India for the World Cup is going to be announced on 5th September. Before this, the team management is planning to try Ishan Kishan at number 4 or 5.
The middle order is a problem
Shikhar Dhawan is not part of the team after December 2022. Ishan Kishan scored a double-century as an opener against Bangladesh and became the third-choice opener. The middle order has been a problem for Team India after Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who have been doing consistently well at number 4, and Suryakumar Yadav failed. Sanju Samson is a good option in the middle order but team management does not include him permanently in the Team India squad. Sanju Samson has a 55+ average at playing in the middle order but he is included in the team as a traveling substitute of KL Rahul.
Team management does not want any more clashes near the World Cup
Although the presence of Sanju Samson would have given the team flexibility, which Team India captain Rohit talked about in the press conference after the announcement of the team for the Asia Cup, it is believed that the team management will be closer to the World Cup. I don’t want any confusion. With Kishan’s batting position settled, bringing Samson back so close to the World Cup would have created a new headache.
There will be no tampering with the top-order Rahul’s availability was a major concern in the past weeks as the team management discussed a reshuffle in the top three, with either Rohit or Kohli being considered for the No.4 position. However, after a week’s camp at the KSCA facility in Alur, Bengaluru, the Team India think-tank has decided not to tinker with the top three.
Decision to give Ishan Kishan a chance in the middle order
According to information received by The Indian Express, Rohit Sharma did not want to tamper with the top three as he wants stability at the top. Instead of Ishan Kishan, the team management has decided to try him in the middle order as he is also a left-handed batsman and was not the first-choice player in the playing 11. Ishan Kishan has batted in the middle order (at No.4) in six matches. He averages only 22.75 in them and has struggled against spinners at the start of the innings. Kishan will be one of the two reserve batsmen in the team with the other likely batsman being Suryakumar Yadav.
Team India’s selection for the World Cup will be on 5th September
Meanwhile, information has come to light that the senior national selection committee will meet on September 5, a day after Team India’s group match against Nepal to choose the team for the World Cup. For the World Cup, the teams have to hand over the team list to the ICC by 5 September. There are indications that the meeting will be held in Kandy and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar will join the team here on Thursday.
Shadow of rain over India vs Pakistan Asia Cup
Although Team India reached Kandy on Wednesday, there was no training session on Thursday and the team will train on Friday evening. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup match with moderate to heavy rain predicted for the next three days, but the good news is that the match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on Thursday witnessed a few minutes of thundershowers despite overcast skies. There was no rain except drizzle.
Tilak Verma will not be selected for the World Cup
A 17-member team has been selected for the Asia Cup. There will be only 15 players on the team for the World Cup. Apart from Tilak Verma, not a single seam bowler will be selected. Due to a lack of depth in Team India’s batting, only one of Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna will be selected. However, the team management may give a chance to Shardul Thakur because of his batting. Recently, Pakistan managed to defeat Afghanistan in the last over thanks to their tail-end batsmen, but India lacks such players in the lower order. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah is also expected to reach Sri Lanka on Friday ahead of India’s match against Pakistan on Saturday and is likely to stay there till the team selection.
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