#ICC CricketWorldCup2023 : India Announce 15-Member Squad; Rohit Sharma To Lead ; Ravichandran Ashwin Replaces Injured Axar Patel

Ending the uncertainty India have announced their final squad for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup with the injured Axar Patel dropped and Ravichandran Ashwin making his way into the 15-member team.

With the spin bowling all rounder failing to make it back in time, Ashwin was picked for the upcoming ICC World Cup at home.

The recently-concluded Australia series lifted Ashwin’s hopes of finding a place in the World Cup squad. And with Axar still recovering from a hamstring injury, the veteran off-spinner secured a place in the final squad.

An ICC media release stated, “Axar Patel has failed to recover in time for the World Cup after sustaining a left quadriceps strain during India’s Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Bangladesh. The spin-bowling all-rounder missed the final of the Asia Cup as a result.”

“Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named his replacement, who was impressive on his return to ODI cricket in the recently concluded series against Australia where he picked up four wickets in two games,” added the release.

Ashwin’s call-up was an expected change. The veteran off-spinner travelled with the team to Guwahati. India will play their first warm-up game against England on Saturday, September 30.

Hosts India will open their ODI World Cup campaign on October 8th in Chennai. The Rohit Sharma-led side will take on Australia in their World Cup opener.

Before the team was named Skipper Rohit Sharma was quoted as saying by PTI, “When we talk about the 15-man squad we are very clear on what we want and the guys who will do the job for us. We’re not confused. We know exactly where we are heading”.

The Team That will try to repeat 2011 feat :

Rohit Sharma (Capt), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav

Former India skipper and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly told ANI , “This is going to be a big World Cup. The World Cup is a big tournament. India has been playing very well, so it is a matter of delight. We hope that they continue to play the same good Cricket for the next 45 days.”