Ajit Agarkar-led national selection panel will announce India's 15-member squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup on Tuesday. The announcement will be made from Kandy, Sri Lanka where the Indian team is participating in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023.
India are facing quite a few questions regarding their team's combination. In the Asia Cup, India did not get the chance to fully utilise their players in both games against Pakistan and Nepal due to rain interruptions in group-stage matches. However, the continental cup's performance was not the criteria to earn the selection in the World Cup squad.
For the Asia Cup 2023, India picked an 18-member squad including Sanju Samson as backup wicketkeeper for injured KL Rahul (who was ruled out for two games) while Tilak Varma earned his maiden call-up for ODIs in the six-team competition.
KL Rahul's fitness
Despite missing India's opening games in the Asia Cup, Rahul is set to retain his spot in the team as the main wicketkeeper-batter who can bat at no.5 spot. The right-handed batter is expected to be fit for the Super Four games. He was also part of India's last World Cup squad which was played in England.
Will Sanju Samson be picked in India's World Cup squad?
The chances of Samson getting a place in India's squad are very slim due to his recent poor record in the white-ball format. In his last nine innings, he only scored one half-century and only surpassed the 30-run mark twice. Whereas, Varma showed a promising start to his career after making his T20I debut against West Indies last month. However, his chances of making it into the squad are similar to Samson's due to the return of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul to the squad.
Will Suryakumar Yadav get a place in India's World Cup squad?
The swashbuckling batter Suryakumar Yadav is anticipated to be part of the 15-member squad due to his hard-hitting abilities. He was not picked in the Asia Cup matches against Pakistan and Nepal but he can be an asset for the side in case of any adversary.
Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal?
The return of Yuzvendra Chahal is very unlikely as India adopted Kuldeep Yadav as their first-choice spinner in limited-overs cricket over the former. The left-arm spinner's recent form has been a boon for team India. However, there will be no off-spinner in the squad despite the southpaw-heavy batting line-up in the World Cup.
Who will be the all-rounders in India's World Cup squad?
Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will be the mainstay of Men in Blue's squad while Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur will retain their spots in the squad as backup to the duo star players.
India's pace attack will be spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj completing the lethal trio.
Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna and Sanju Samson are the three players, who are part of the Asia Cup squad but will be unlucky to retain their place in the World Cup squad.
India's predicted ODI World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal.