World Cup: No surprises in India’s 15-member squad
World Cup squad and the Asian Cricket Council confirmed that the Asia Cup would stick to its original schedule. The Super Four stage would be played in Colombo after logistical problems made moving to Hambantota at short notice too much of a challenge. In addition to this, at least one team was reluctant to make the move.
With the Indian team there were no surprises. The fifteen were picked from the group involved in the Asia Cup, with the exception of Prasidh Krishna, Tilak Varma and reserve wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.
At the press conference announcing the team, both captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar stressed that the guiding principle in this selection was balance. The team actively looked at multifaceted cricketers, led by Hardik Pandya, named vice-captain, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur.
The batting picked itself, with all first-choice players being fit and available for selection.
If there was one talking point, it was that India had only one slow bowler who took the ball away from left-handed batsmen, in Kuldeep Yadav.
India's ODI World Cup squad: Why was Rahul picked, Samson & Ashwin left out? Here's who is in, who is out
The off-spin options discussed were Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar. Ashwin is tremendously skilled and experienced but his lack of speed in the field went against him. Add to this that his batting in limited-overs cricket doesn’t have the dynamism that you expect down the order.
Washington’s case is a bit more intriguing. A top-order batsman of proven class at the domestic level, he was used as a bowler who bats a bit in the Indian Premier League and international cricket.
Even in this role he shone in the IPL bowling the
