Sourav Ganguly revealed his preferred 15-member Indian squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 on Friday, August 25. The former cricketer left out wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson and youngster Tilak Varma from his team but surprisingly picked Suryakumar Yadav.
With the World Cup only weeks away (October 5), fans and cricket experts are guessing India's potential squad for the marquee tournament at home. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed a 17-member squad for the ODI Asia Cup 2023 on August 21 and the same team is expected to feature in the World Cup.
However, compared to the Asia Cup squad, the former BCCI chief avoided considering Tilak and Samson for the World Cup spots. Tilak was a surprise selection in the Asia Cup squad having played no ODI matches before while Samson was selected as a reserve player. In another surprise, Suryakumar Yadav found a place in the Asia Cup team and also in Ganguly's squad for the World Cup.
Suryakumar's poor numbers in ODIs despite playing 26 matches are hard to miss but the world no.1 T20I batter gets a nod in Ganguly's team. Both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have returned from their lengthy injury spells and found a place in the former captain's preferred squad for the World Cup.
In bowling, Ganguly followed the selectors' footsteps and dropped Yuzvendra Chahal. He picked Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in his team with four pacers Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Shardul Thakur, leaving out Prasidh Krishna.
Sourav Ganguly's Indian squad for ICC World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya (vc), Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur.
