What to expect from India’s Cricket World Cup squad?

India have announced a 15-member squad for the Cricket World Cup that gets underway on October 5.

The official 15-member squad of the Indian national men’s cricket team for the upcoming Cricket World Cup has finally been announced. The list was read out by chief of selectors Ajit Agarkar and he was accompanied by captain Rohit Sharma at the press conference in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

According to reports, the squad was picked on late Saturday night following the washed-out encounter between India and Pakistan. Agarkar had flown to Sri Lanka where he had a meeting with Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid before deciding the final squad.

The squad is pretty similar to the one that is taking part in the 50-over format of the Asia Cup going on in Sri Lanka right now. Only Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Prasidh Krishna, who are a part of the Asia Cup squad haven’t been able to make it to the World Cup roster.

The team will be captained by Rohit Sharma as usual while all three players returning from long-term injuries - KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah - have also been included, as is the case with the Asia Cup squad as well.

But what are the key takeaways from the World Cup squad announcement?

Sanju Samson loses out to Ishan Kishan

Sanju Samson’s fans on Twitter may be vocal in their claims of bias and favouritism, but the enigmatic cricketer from Kerala has lost out on a place once again. Following his head-turning knock in the middle order against Pakistan, Ishan Kishan has cemented his place in the ODI squad and has been included in the World Cup squad.

Both Kishan and Samson had actually made their ODI debuts within five days of each other. However, while Samson has a better average of 55.71 (compared to Kishan’s 48.5), the Mumbai Indians southpaw has made headlines more often. He holds the record for the fastest double century in ODI cricket and has also scored a lot more runs - 776 which is almost double of Samson’s tally of 390 runs - at a faster strike rate (106.74).

Kishan’s left-handedness also gives him the edge given that Ravindra Jadeja is the only other decent left-hander and Kishan can be floated anywhere apart from the top three slots according to the match-ups and game situation.

Emphasis on greater batting depth

For a long time, captain Rohit Sharma and the selectors have consistently stressed on their preference of having a strong batting depth in this format as opposed to a long tail. That strategy is clearly visible in their squad selection as all-rounders Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Shardul Thakur have all been included in the squad.

While Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are pretty much guaranteed selections in the primary ODI XI, Shardul Thakur is also expected to receive considerable game-time in order to emphasize the batting depth.

No Ravichandran Ashwin or Yuzvendra Chahal in the spin department

Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel will consolidate India’s spin department. Most pitches in India are known for their spin-friendly nature and as such, all three (with particular prominence on Kuldeep and Jadeja) are expected to play a major role at some point or another.

There was no space for Ravichandran Ashwin or Yuzvendra Chahal in the ODI squad. Ashwin hasn’t played an ODI in a year and a half while Chahal hasn’t featured in the ODI XI since January. It seems that the management has lost some faith in Chahal as a specialist spinner in recent months while Ashwin’s selection has been erratic in the white-ball formats.

The middle order dilemma

The Indian team management will also have a headache selecting the proper combination for the team’s middle order. The top three is expected to be fixed with Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli at the helm.

However, the middle order remains a mystery and a point of uncertainty for the team. In the absence of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, the middle order had become a seat of experimentation for Dravid and co.

Even with Iyer and Rahul returning to the fold, the question marks still remain. The short ball proved to be Iyer’s undoing in the first Asia Cup fixture against Pakistan once again while KL Rahul is still not fit enough to feature in India’s XI at the Asia Cup.

Suryakumar Yadav has squandered the opportunities presented to him to consolidate his place in the middle order and isn’t really reliable. Despite being a giant of the game in T20s, his numbers in ODIs are extremely mediocre and he averages only 24.22 with two half-centuries in 24 innings

Who is going to keep wickets for India?

Given that KL Rahul is returning after so long, there is also the added concern whether he will be fit enough to keep wickets for 50 overs and also feature in the batting unit. When faced with this question, Agarkar replied, “Obviously, Rahul plays as a wicketkeeper-batter. The attempt is to have him fit from our first game. The niggle is a small setback for Rahul but we all are hopeful that he will be okay. His role is as a keeper-batter. Needless to say he is a very important player.”

It is highly unlikely that both Kishan and Rahul will feature together. While the latter is more experienced and has splendid numbers batting at the number 5 role, the former is the only capable left-handed batter in the team besides Ravindra Jadeja. Moreover, his recent knock against Pakistan also shows that he is capable of performing under pressure.

Having an-all right-handed top 5 might be a hindrance for the team against big sides where matchups can prove to be fundamental.

Absence of an X-factor player

Going into the World Cup, the discussions centred around Tilak Varma possibly getting a shoo-in after impressing on recent tours. A revelation of IPL 2022, the 20-year-old has been mighty impressive in T20Is and has scored 174 runs in this format at an average close to 35 and a strike rate of over 138. What has been a particularly highlight of his stint so far is how comfortable he has looked in international cricket and he is clearly cut out for this level.

However, the more-experienced Suryakumar Yadav was picked ahead of him in the World Cup squad.

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