The 15-member Indian squad for the forthcoming ODI World Cup 2023, which is scheduled to start on October 5 in India, was revealed by the country’s top cricket regulatory body, the BCCI, on Tuesday, September 5. Notably, Team India’s World Cup campaign will get off on October 8 in Chennai against Australia and conclude on October 11 against Afghanistan. The most anticipated game between them and Pakistan will take place on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
Many players on the team will be participating in the forthcoming big game for the first time. It’s interesting to note that several of the Indian team members from the 2019 World Cup weren’t selected this time and were replaced by players who are now on form or have performed well over the past few months.
Looking at India’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad from the World Cup 2019, there are 7 changes to note:
1. Vijay Shankar is replaced by Shardul Thakur
The inclusion of Vijay Shankar in the Indian World Cup team for 2019 caused a significant problem because it eliminated Ambati Rayudu, who had spent the entire previous year being prepared for the no. 4 place. Fascinatingly, MSK Prasad, the then-chief selector for the BCCI, made the iconic “3D player” statement shortly after. Notably, Shankar participated in three matches during the 2019 World Cup, scoring 58 runs and taking two wickets.
Unfortunately, Shankar ended up breaking his toe during a drill. Shankar was consequently replaced in the middle of the competition. Shardul Thakur, a fast bowling all-rounder with a flair for taking wickets, would be the team’s other pace bowling all-rounder this time instead of Hardik Pandya. We have seen time and time again that Thakur always makes the crucial gains when the captain needs them, despite making some runs.
Therefore, it would be accurate to describe him as the Indian Cricket team’s workhorse. In addition, Shardul Thakur offers the batting depth at number 8 that captain Rohit Sharma recently mentioned during a press conference. It will be intriguing to see if the Mumbai all-rounder performs the ‘Golden Arm’ for team India once more at the forthcoming major tournament.
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