Team India squad for World Cup announced; KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav included, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal left out

Kandy: Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar on Tuesday announced India's 15-man squad for the ODI World Cup 2023.

The biggest take coming out of the announcement is that Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna and Sanju Samson, who are travelling with the squad as backup for KL Rahul for Asia Cup, have been dropped.

Yuzvendra Chahal, who was dropped from Asia Cup, also did not find his name in the World Cup squad.

But there is room for Rahul, whose fitness has been a concern for the past few months. He is yet to play a match for India since his injury during 2023 IPL. He is expected to join the Asia Cup India squad ahead of the Super 4 game against Pakistan.

Kuldeep Yadav is the lone specialist spinner who will be supported by bowling-all rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.

World's leading No.1 T20 batsman Suryakumar Yadav has been picked up, despite his performance in ODIs has been upto the mark.

Shardul Thakur has been prefered for his batting abilities, which he showed during Test series Down Under a couple of years back.

Team India for World Cup:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav. (UNI)