India’s cricket team for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup has been decided, and Sanju Samson is not part of it. The team selection happened late on Saturday night, and KL Rahul made it into the squad.
The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, traveled to Sri Lanka to meet with Indian captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid to finalize the squad. They made their decisions after the India vs. Pakistan Asia Cup match in Kandy, which was canceled due to rain.
In addition to Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and Prasidh Krishna, who are currently in Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup, did not secure a spot in the World Cup squad.
The team will be captained by Rohit Sharma, and Ishan Kishan, who has been performing well as a middle-order batsman, also made it to the squad.
The batting lineup for India will include Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Suryakumar Yadav.
All-rounders Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Shardul Thakur were selected to provide depth in the batting department.
In the bowling department, the pace attack will be led by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj, while spinner Kuldeep Yadav also earned a spot on the team.
The selection committee also discussed KL Rahul’s fitness, and after receiving approval from the medical team, he was included in the squad. Rahul had been recovering from surgery on his right thigh and had been out of action for three and a half months.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had a deadline of September 5 to submit the final World Cup squad to the International Cricket Council (ICC). They initially planned to hold the selection committee meeting on the evening of September 4 but decided to proceed after Rahul was declared fit, not wanting to wait another day.
While Rahul is expected to be the team’s wicketkeeper-batsman if he fully recovers, there is some concern about his fitness to keep wickets. However, Agarkar expressed hope that Rahul would be ready for the first game, as he plays a crucial role in the team as a keeper-batsman.
The selection committee had previously indicated that they would pick the World Cup squad from the Asia Cup 18-member squad, and there were no major surprises in the final selection.