Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir picked his 'ideal' 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming 2019 World Cup which begins May 30. Gambhir, who was a part of the 2011 World Cup winning squad, had most of the names on the expected lines.
The former southpaw has however omitted all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and youngster Rishabh Pant from the 15-member squad, bringing in Ravichandran Ashwin and KL Rahul.
In the wicketkeepers slots, Gambhir has picked MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik, leaving no room for the explosive youngster.
In the bowling unit, the recently retired cricketer has picked Ashwin ahead of Jadeja. However, Ashwin last played for India in coloured clothing in July 2017. Wrist-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have since then become frontline spinners for India in limited overs format.
While Ravindra Jadeja has managed to make a comeback in the shorter formats, Ashwin has not.
"Both wrist-spinners (Kuldeep and Chahal) have done well in the last one year. But I still feel that Ashwin is somebody we should look at. I've always believed that a quality spinner is a quality spinner – irrespective of whether he is a wrist-spinner or a finger-spinner," said Gambhir told PTI
"I think R Ashwin is someone who we should always consider because we are looking at conditions in England during that time of the year. Wickets could be flat and worn out. So a finger-spinner can be effective with the ball as well," said Gambhir.
Gambhir has also selected pacer Mohammed Shami in the squad, who has been on song, recently becoming the fastest to 100 ODI wickets for India.
Gautam Gambhir’s Indian squad for World Cup 2019: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav.
