- By Himanshu Badola
- Sun, 01 Oct 2023 03:10 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India will be kicking off their campaign at the ODI Word Cup 2023 on October 8 with a crucial clash against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Talking about India's squad, only two players have the experience of playing in more than two editions of the ODI World Cup.
Indian team features a bunch of players who lack the experience of playing at the biggest stage and will be up for the action there for the first time.
The Men in Blue will be heading into the prestigious tournament with more than five of their players still to make their World Cup debut.
Apart from Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin three others (Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami) have played in the World Cup twice and the rest of the squad carries only one or zero World Cup experience with them.
Let’s have a look at the six Indian players who have been included in the ICC Cricket World Cup squad for the first time.
Shubman Gill
India's new and young batting sensation Shubman Gill is all set to shine on the massive stage as he will be playing his maiden World Cup game in Chennai. Gill has been in sublime form this year, having scored 10 fifty-plus scores in 20 innings this year.
He will be crucial for the Men in Blue at the top of the order as he will be taking up the responsibility as opener alongside captain Rohit Sharma.
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer is in promising touch after returning from a long injury break as he eyes to continue this form in his maiden ODI World Cup. Since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy played in India earlier this year, Iyer missed out on the IPL, World Test Championship final, West Indies, and Ireland tours due to injuries.
He will be taking India’s crucial batting position in the middle order as the number four batter, having recently scored a century against Australia in Indore.
Shardul Thakur
The star all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been among the leading wicket-takers for India in ODIs since the last World Cup in 2019. He will be crucial for giving a boost to India's batting depth as being a formidable option at number 8 and 9. Shardull will be aiming to make it count in his maiden World Cup with his all-around ability.
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Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj will be the key for India in the bowling lineup alongside Jasprit Bumrah. He will also be playing the first-ever World Cup event in his career, having made a massive improvement in the past few years. Recently, he bowled a dream spell of (6/21) to help India win their eighth Asia Cup title.
Ishan Kishan
India's star wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is also part of the squad for his maiden ODI World Cup as he is also going through brilliant form with the bat. He might not get a chance to play his debut World Cup game in the first few matches with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul looking ahead for the contention. He has done well for the team in recent ODI tours.
Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav was consistent in the recently concluded Australia series, having played crucial knocks in Mohali and Indore. Suryakumar is picked for his maiden ODI World Cup event and he might also be given the opportunity to make his debut in mid-tournament. He is picked as a backup batting option considering his brilliance towards the back end of the innings.