ICC 2019 World Cup: BCCI to announce the Indian squad 8 days ahead of the deadline

What's the story?

BCCI has confirmed that India will select the squad for the 2019 World Cup on the 15th of April in Mumbai.

In case you didn't know.

The much-anticipated 2019 World Cup is going to start in the last week of May in England. The New Zealand team have announced their squad well ahead of schedule.

All the other teams are working hard to pick their 15-man squad for the World Cup. ICC has announced that all the countries should submit their World Cup squad before the 23rd of April. The Indian cricket team is likely to be picked 15 days before the deadline.

Heart of the matter

All eyes will be on the Indian selectors to know who they pick in the team. Earlier, the Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma claimed that the Indian team is almost finalized and only a few spots are in contention. Indian cricket coach Ravi Shastri and captain Kohli will have to take a decision on who should fill the extra spot in the team. Here is what Sharma said:

“I think we are pretty much settled. There are a few spots (undecided) which everyone knows about but again that depends on what the captain and the coach and the selectors think whether they want to go for the extra seamer or the extra spinner or extra middle order player or a reserve opener."

After the Australia series, even Virat Kohli felt that the team combination is almost sorted.

"As a side, combination wise, we are sorted. Condition-based, there is one maximum change in the World Cup. We are clear on the playing XI forWorld Cup. We have to focus on the decisions that resulted in our loss. Hardik Pandya's return balances the batting and the bowling", Kohli said.

As per the captain's and vice-captain's words, we can expect a similar squad from the Australia series. However, the number four position has been an issue for India for quite a while. Hence we can expect a few surprises in the squad.