Sourav Ganguly picks his 15-member Indian squad for World Cup
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has been constantly voicing his opinion ahead of the ICC World Cup 2019. He seems excited like everyone else as the ICC World Cup draws near. The World Cup is set to be held in England and Wales from May 30 onwards. And Dada has already picked his 15-member Indian side. Here are the details.
No Pant and DK in Dada's World Cup team
Ganguly hasn't named the likes of Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in his list. With KL Rahul capable enough as a second-choice keeper and a back-up top order batsman, Ganguly didn't name Pant or DK. Karthik was omitted from the five-match ODI series against Australia at home. Pant will play the remaining two ODIs to stake a claim for a World Cup spot.
Dada backs the current batting line-up for World Cup
Ganguly wants the current batting line-up to turn up for the mega event in England. "Shikhar and Rohit should open. Other than the two, Rahul is another batsman who can open. Virat is being Virat. He is on top of his game. Virat should bat in his usual number 3 slot. Rayudu at 4, Dhoni at 5 and Kedar at number 6," he said.
Ganguly backs Shankar ahead of Jadeja
India are likely to go in with two specialist all-rounders. Hardik Pandya is the top bet for India and Vijay Shankar has done well in recent times. Then there is Ravindra Jadeja as well. "Ravindra Jadeja should not be in the World Cup team. Vijay Shankar bowled beautifully in the Nagpur match. I think Vijay deserves his World Cup spot," he said.
Dada backs pacers, includes Umesh in the squad
With conditions during the World Cup set to assist pace and swing, the Indian fast bowlers are expected to do well. "The Indian pace attack is fantastic. Whether it's Bumrah or Shami, the Indian pacers are performing consistently. The pacers will play an important factor for the team in England," said Ganguly. In a surprise move, Dada included Umesh Yadav in the bowling quartet.
Ganguly's squad for ICC World Cup 2019
Here's the squad picked by Ganguly: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav.
