Rohit Sharma-led India will start their ODI World Cup campaign against Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8. Chairman of Senior Men's Selection Committee Ajit Agarkar named the 15-member squad for the showpiece tournament on Tuesday.
The biggest takeaway from the announcement was the selection of only one specialist spinner in the turning Indian tracks. For the first time, the whole tournament will be played in the country, unlike the 2011 World Cup which was co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
One Spinner - Kuldeep Yadav
The left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav will be the only specialist slow-bowling option for the Men in Blue in the tournament with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel as the other two spin-bowling options available in the squad.
In the home World Cup, the decision to play a sole front-line spinner can go against the hosts as India are expected to get spin-friendly wickets across the tournament.
India are set to their group stage matches in Chennai, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Dharamshala, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Most of them will assist spinners and the role of Kuldeep and Jadeja/Patel will become crucial.
No differentiating factor between Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel
Both Jadeja and Patel are left-arm spinners alike Kuldeep but the duo does not have any differentiating factor between their bowling style. Both Gujarat spinners like to bowl on wicket-to-wicket length with Patel mixing it with orthodox deliveries (turning it away for right-handers). The void of not having an off-spinner will surely haunt India in the southpaw-heavy matches against Australia, England and New Zealand.
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Three pacers - Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the fast-bowling attack for India. The trio of right-arm seamers is no less than deadly for any batting line-up in the World Cup. All three are capable of producing consistent 140 kmph plus pace with Bumrah standing out with his unorthodox action while Shami's picture-perfect seam landing is hard to find in limited-overs cricket.
The youngest of three, Siraj is a mixture of both Bumrah and Shami with a lethal pace and a variety of deliveries to unsettle the batters.
Two All-rounders -- Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja
Vice-captain Hardik Pandya and Jadeja will play the finisher role in the batting line-up. The duo will provide depth to the middle order and will be picked as first-choice all-rounders in the home tournament. Pandya is the second pace-bowling all-rounder in the squad other than Shardul Thakur. Axar Patel is Jadeja's substitute in the 15-member squad.
Five batters - Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul
India's top three consisting of Rohit, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli -- is one of the most formidable starting trio in the tournament. Rohit and Virat's combined ODI runs (22,824) will be equal to more than half of the playing 11 which they will compete against.
The return of Iyer and Rahul adds more strength to the batting line-up which looks absolutely solid on any given day. Rahul's fitness will be the key for India as the batter is set to play his first match in the ongoing Asia Cup against Pakistan in the Super Four on Sunday, September 10.
In case of any adversary to Rahul, in-form wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan will chip in India's playing 11.
India's predicted playing 11 in the ODI World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav.