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Team India have officially announced their 15-man squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup. The Rohit Sharma-led team will be on the lookout to secure the nation's third title win and head into the tournament on home soil as one of the favorites.
The selection committee did not spring up any major surprises and picked the squad entirely from the unit that is present in Sri Lanka for the 2023 Asia Cup. However, that approach resulted in several names like Shikhar Dhawan, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Yuzvendra Chahal missing out from the final squad.
The expectations from the 2023 edition are as high as the one from 2011, which was co-hosted by India. The MS Dhoni-led squad eventually ended up winning the title after 28 years.
Team India squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav.
On that note, let us take a look at three similarities between India’s squads for the 2011 and 2023 World Cups.
#1 Packed top order
The 2011 World Cup saw Team India have a formidable top order, with Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, and Virat Kohli forging the unit. All four batters had a prolific tournament with the bat, with Tendulkar even finishing as the tournament's second-highest run scorer.
The same can be said for the 2023 edition as well. The current top order comprises Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. It is a terrific blend of youth and experience, and they already showcased their ability in familiar conditions during the home season earlier this year.
If the top three get going in the tournament, the opposition bowlers will have a hard time trying to defeat the Men in Blue.
#2 A prodigy in the batting unit
The 2011 World Cup marked Virat Kohli's first major tournament with Team India, and it began and ended on a memorable note. He scored a century on his World Cup debut against Bangladesh and lifted the World Cup trophy at just 22 years of age. He had lifted the U-19 World Cup title as the captain in 2008 and was earmarked for big things, a prophecy that indeed came true.
Along the same lines, Shubman Gill has made some serious strides across the last 12 months and is now one of the first names on the team sheet. The opening batter has also won the U-19 World Cup - 2018 edition and has broken through into the senior side.
Much like Kohli in 2011, there are a lot of expectations on Gill this time around.
#3 A promising batter was not considered
The bench strength of the modern-day Team India means that an ideal squad arguably cannot be picked. There can always be some cases that can be made for the candidates who were not considered for the final squad.
Ahead of the 2023 edition, Tilak Varma fits into the category. The 20-year-old was fast-tracked into the ODI setup following his excellent maiden outing in T20Is. He was one of the best batters in Team India's 3-2 T20I series defeat against the West Indies.
He was selected for the Asia Cup but has not made it to the World Cup squad. Tilak being an X-factor and more importantly, a left-handed batter, led him to the Asia Cup squad. But since he has yet to amass any ODI experience, he was not considered in the final 15-man squad World Cup squad.
Similarly, the selectors decided to not include a young Rohit Sharma in the 2011 squad as well. By that time, the talented batter had made 61 appearances in the format, but a poor series against South Africa led to him not being named in the World Cup squad.
He gradually worked his way upwards and a promotion to the top of the order in a couple of years' time turned his career around. Rohit now leads the Indian squad in the 2023 edition as a veteran, having accomplished a whole lot in his career.
Team India will kickstart their 2023 ODI World Cup campaign with a clash against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8.
Will Team India win the 2023 ODI World Cup? Let us know what you think.
