With less than two months left before the start of the ODI World Cup, fans are eagerly waiting for the Men in Blue to achieve the right combination. The Indian team played an ODI series against West Indies in an experimental way with some key names missing from the series. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were rested for the final two matches and even some of the first-choice bowlers did not feature in the entire series.
The likes of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj were rested from the series, while Jasprit Bumrah will make his International comeback only in the Ireland series. This left the team experimenting with not only the batting but also the bowling department. Mukesh Kumar, Umran Malik and Shardul Thakur completed the pace duties, while Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel were the spinners for the Men in Blue. India head coach Rahul Dravid had claimed that this was the final series where they could have tried and tested before the World Cup. But as World Cup approaches, the team would like to get the combinations in place.
Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and who more?
In all likelihood, Jasprit Bumrah will make it to the World Cup squad if he stays fit. The team management is easing him into high-intensity cricket with a 20-over series against Ireland. Bumrah was at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehabilitation for his back surgery and played practice games there. From bowling four overs first in International cricket, he is tipped to bowl ten overs.
Ravindra Jadeja remains one of the most lethal weapons of the Indian team in spin bowling and batting in the middle order. But who else could make the squad among the bowlers? There is a virtual fight going on between five players for two spots in the squad. All the teams are required to submit their initial 15-men squad for the World Cup by September 5 and final submission can be done by September 27.
India shall have seven pure batters in the squad excluding Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, who will make it nine. There are six slots left for bowlers and the Men in Blue shall pick Bumrah, Shami, Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav. The chinaman has returned back among wickets and found his absent confidence back in the current year. This makes him a front-runner for a spinner's place alongside Jadeja.
Fight between five for two spots
Now there remains a fight for two places with some more bowlers left to be picked. Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat and Prasidh Krishna all are in line for a place. Notably, Chahal has played just two ODIs out of 12 in 2023. Chahal has been part of all ODI squads in the year but has been found behind Kuldeep. Even though India would want to go with three or four spinners, Chahal will face competition from Axar Patel too, who has grown his stature as a batter. Also, Chahal has only been picked in squads of over 15 players in the complete year.
If four pacers including Pandya are any less, India have the likes of left-armer Jaydev Unadkat, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur to choose from. Unadkat and Thakur look ahead of a returning Prasidh but the tall lanky bowler's height and pace can tempt the team to try him out. Unadkat has found life back into the Indian team. He made a comeback to ODI cricket with his first game since November 2013 in the Windies ODIs in 2023. The factor that he brings a left-arm variety shall keep the selectors interested. However, Shardul is the best among these two in terms of batting and also has a knack for picking wickets at some crucial moments.
In all probability, India shall pick at least one spinner more and only one of Shardul, Unadkat and Krishna will get a place for the final 15th spot. The initial squads should be given by September 5 and the changes can be made till September 27. The upcoming Asia Cup and the Australia ODI series shall be the final auction trials for India as the squad will only be able to see any team changes after September 27 with ICC's approval in case of injury.
India's Probable Squad for World Cup:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul*, Shreyas Iyer*, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel/Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur/Jaydev Unadkat/Prasidh Krishna (* subject to fitness)
