India's World Cup squad was bereft of any surprises as the selectors opted to play safe and concur with the choices of the team management.
K L Rahul was given the nod for the World Cup while still recovering from his injury without even testing his fitness status in a match, while Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel's selections left many puzzled.
As many as seven players will make their World Cup debut next month including Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj.
Virat Kohli is the only player to be part of an ODI World Cup winning team, having featured as a young batting star during India's triumphant campaign in 2011.
Meet India's 15-member squad for the World Cup:
Rohit Sharma (captain)
Rohit, who was gutted to miss out on India's previous World Cup triumph at home in 2011, will want to lead India to glory in front of home fans.
Rohit was unstoppable in the last World Cup in 2019, with a record five centuries to his name for a tally of 648 runs in nine games.
Overall, he has played 17 World Cup matches, scoring 978 runs with six centuries and three fifties.
Hardik Pandya (vice-captain)
The very fact that he has been named vice-captain highlights Hardik's importance to the team.
He adds much-needed balance to the team, who have been hit badly by the lack of runs from their lower order and the absence of part-time bowlers in their top and middle order batting.
Hardik is back to his best in terms of fitness and form, as he proved with his magnificent 87 in tough conditions against Pakistan; he bowled eight overs against Nepal, taking 1/34.
Hardik was one of India's standout players in the previous World Cup, scoring 226 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 112, and taking 10 wickets at an economy rate of 5.65.
Virat Kohli
Kohli, who scored a century on his World Cup debut (versus Bangladesh) in 2011, has featured in the last three World Cups, scoring 1,029 runs in 22 matches, with two centuries and six fifties.
Kohli led India in the last World Cup in 2019, in which he made 422 runs in nine matches with five fifties.
Shubman Gill
After a tough time with the bat in the West Indies, Gill finally found form as he smashed 67 not out against Nepal.
His ODI numbers are pretty impressive. He has scored 1,514 runs in 29 matches at an average of 63 and a strike rate of 102, with four centuries (including a double) and seven fifties.
K L Rahul
Rahul has endured a tough few months as he struggled to regain fitness after sustaining a thigh injury during IPL 2023.
He suffered another setback when he was ruled out of the first couple of Asia Cup 2023 games because of a niggle which put his World Cup place in serious doubt.
Rahul put in the hard yards at the National Cricket Academy in the last couple of weeks and was ruled fit on the eve of the team selection for the World Cup after assessing him in a practice match.
He has been cleared to join the Indian team for the remainder of the Asia Cup, but it remains to be seen if regains his place as the wicket-keeper-middle order batter, with Ishan Kishan higher up in the pecking order after his smashing innings against Pakistan.
Batting at No 5, Rahul has scored 742 runs in 18 innings at an average of 53, with one century and seven fifties. If he doesn't make it to the team as the 'keeper, he could slot in as a middle order batter.
In the 2019 World Cup, Rahul, who mostly opened the innings, scored 360 runs in nine matches, including a century against Sri Lanka and a fifty against Pakistan.
Shreyas Iyer
Iyer also made a timely recovery from injury to be picked for the World Cup.
Since 2022, when batting at No. 4, Iyer has scored 832 runs in 22 matches at an average of 48, with a century and six fifties.
Suryakumar Yadav
Despite his ODI struggles, the team management felt that T20 sensation Suryakumar was a better than option than the highly talented Sanju Samson, who didn't make most of his limited chances but still has a much better record in 50-overs cricket.
Suryakumar managed just 35 runs in the three-match ODI series in the West Indies. He had fallen for ducks in the three match series against Australia at home.
His ODI record reads a sorry tale: 511 runs from 24 matches at an average of 24.
Except for injuries, Suryakumar will struggle to get into the playing XI in the World Cup.
Ishan Kishan
His magnificent knock against Pakistan in the Asia Cup sealed the deal for the swashbuckling left-hander, who has emerged as the No. 1 wicket-keeper-middle order batter option for India.
Kishan, primarily an opener, grabbed the opportunity with both hands, smashing a quickfire 82 against Pakistan when asked to bat at No. 5.
However, it was just not that one knock which did the trick for Kishan, who has been quite consistent in 50-overs cricket.
The fifty against Pakistan was his fourth in a row while the 25-year-old is also the holder of the record for the fastest double century in ODIs, having raced to the landmark from just 126 balls against Bangladesh in December last year.
In 19 ODIs, Kishan has made 776 runs at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 106, and he is also quite safe with the gloves with 11 catches and two stumpings.
Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja is a key component of the World Cup squad, with his ability to contribute with both bat and ball, while he is one of the best fielders in the world.
He hasn't figured much for India in 50 overs cricket in the last couple of years. The left-hander has played just 11 ODIs since January 2022, scoring 163 runs at an average of 32, while taking nine wickets at an economy rate of 4.50.
It is evident that Jadeja's batting was instrumental in him getting the nod as the second spinner.
Axar Patel
Patel's selection ahead of Chahal comes as a big shock.
He is quite similar to Jadeja, bowls tight overs in the middle and is capable of hitting boundaries in the final few overs.
It is hard to imagine Axar and Jadeja bowling in tandem in the middle overs in the unlikely scenario that wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav picks up an injury.
Axar has picked up 58 wickets in 52 ODIs, with a best of 3/24, while scoring 413 runs, with two fifties.
It must be a hard pillow to swallow for Chahal, who had an amazing ODI record of 121 wickets in 72 matches at an economy rate of 5.26, including five four-wicket hauls and two five-wicket hauls.
Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah's return was a big relief for India.
He was out of action for a year with a back injury before he made a comeback during the T20I series in Ireland last month, following which he was picked for the Asia Cup.
He is yet to bowl in an ODI since his return as rain washed out the match against Pakistan after India's innings, while he missed the Nepal clash to return home for the birth of his child.
Bumrah's last ODI appearance was more than a year ago, when he took 6/19 and 2/49 in the two one-dayers in England in July 2022.
He was India's leading wicket-taker in the 2019 World Cup with 18 wickets from nine games, at an economy rate of 4.41 -- the best among the top 10 wicket-takers in that tournament.
Mohammed Shami
With India worried about their lower batting order, Shami's place in the team is no longer guaranteed.
As witnessed in the match against Pakistan, India opted for all-rounder Shardul Thakur instead of Shami.
But Shami is an outright match-winning bowler and deserves a place in the playing XI instead of having to sit out to provide a cushion in case the batters fail to do their job.
He excelled with the ball in the last two ODI World Cups, taking 17 wickets in 2015 and 14 wickets from four matches four years later.
Overall in ODIs, the pacer has picked up 163 wickets from 91 matches, at an economy rate of 5.59, with nine four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.
Mohammed Siraj
Siraj has been India's star performer with the ball across formats in the last year-and-a-half.
Siraj has bagged 46 wickets in 26 ODIs at an economy rate of 4.86 since January 2022.
This year alone, he has claimed 22 wickets in 10 ODIs and is quite good with the new ball, in the middle overs and at the end.
Such has been his impact that he has zoomed ahead of Shami as the second choice pace bowler behind Bumrah.
He is quite effective in home conditions, taking 29 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 4.34.
Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep will lead India's spin hopes at the World Cup.
He fared well in the West Indies series with seven wickets from three matches at an economy rate of 3.21.
He has picked up 22 wickets from 13 games, while taking 12 wickets from eight games last year to bounce back to form after a couple of quiet years with the ball.
The left-arm wrist spinner was part of the last World Cup, taking six wickets from seven games at an economy rate of 5.02.
Interestingly, Kuldeep's away record is better than his home record. The spinner has taken 82 games from 50 away matches, while at home he has taken 59 wickets from 36 games at a higher economy rate.
Shardul Thakur
Shardul's all-round showing in the West Indies boosted his World Cup selection.
He took eight wickets in three matches in the West Indies, with a best of 4/37 in the series-deciding final ODI.
However, he is yet to make a mark with the bat in 50 overs cricket, having managed just 318 runs from 40 games, with just one fifty.
He is likely to play as the third seamer if Indiaplay him ahead of Shami, with him batting at No. 8 beefs up the lower order.
Photographs: BCCI
