ICC World Cup 2023: "This Gives Us More Balance"- Ajit Agarkar On Not Including Off-Spinner In India's WC Squad

The Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selection committee announced India’s 15-member World Cup squad on Tuesday, September 5. Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Sanju Samson are some of the nominal names who have been excluded from India’s WC squad.

Rohit Sharma will be leading the side with Hardik Pandya named as his deputy, KL Rahul is included in the squad despite his injury concerns. He was not a part of the Indian XI for the first two games of the Asia Cup 2023 as he was nursing a niggle at the NCA. Shreyas Iyer who has recovered from his back injury is added to India’s 15-member squad.

The squad also features Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan. While SKY is yet to prove his mettle in ODI cricket, Kishan’s stocks have been on the rise in the format since December 2022. He recently scored 82 against Pakistan batting at number five which improved the chances of his inclusion. He is one of the two keepers in the squad along with KL Rahul.

Meanwhile, the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal has left the Indian cricket experts shocked and surprised. World cricket too has had divided opinions on the exclusion of two of India’s premier spinners. Kuldeep Yadav is the only specialist spinner in this Indian World Cup squad.

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Ajit Agarkar Explains Reason Behind Not Selecting Off-Spinner In WC Squad

At the press conference of India’s World Cup announcement, Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector said that though an off-spinner is a big absence, this particular squad gives them a better balance keeping in mind the opposition and the conditions they will be playing in.

“We would ideally want an offspinner but this gives us a nice balance. Perhaps under more pressure if you don’t have an office but we are happy” said Agarkar.

Rohit Sharma On Players Missing Out From Selection

Meanwhile, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma spoke about the players who have missed out on selection in India’s WC squad. Apart from Ashwin and Chahal, Sanju Samson, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, and Umran Malik are the other players who were excluded from the selection. Samson and Krishna are currently with the Indian team in Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup 2023.

“There are players who miss out but it happens every world cup. You can only get 15 in. The talent we have in India, it’s hard. Some of the guys will be disappointed. I have gone through it. Keep you chin up and look forward. We looked at everything & this is the best possible team we could pick,” said Rohit Sharma.

India’s 15-Member Squad For ICC World Cup 2023

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

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