During an interaction with broadcaster Star Sports, former India batsman Gautam Gambhir named his preferred 15-man India squad for the World Cup 2023.
Gautam Gambhir made a couple of surprising and bold selections. He dropped Shreyas Iyer altogether from his squad and instead preferred Suryakumar Yadav; also, and what was a big surprise call, Gautam Gambhir wants a recall of off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar while he dropped pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur.
The rest of the 13 players in the squad picked by Gautam Gambhir are the ones who are expected to be picked by the BCCI selectors as well. The BCCI will be naming their preliminary squad for the World Cup 2023 by September 5, changes to which can be made until September 27.
Gautam Gambhir’s 15-man India squad for ODI World Cup 2023:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav
Washington Sundar has not played ODI cricket since January 2023. He hasn’t been in the scheme of the ODI squad recently and is unlikely to be picked for the World Cup 2023 squad.
As for Shreyas Iyer, he only recently in the Asia Cup 2023 made his return after being out due to injury since March. Shreyas Iyer has a better and more formidable ODI record than Suryakumar Yadav, but Suryakumar Yadav could also find a place in the 15-man World Cup squad.
Gambhir opted for both KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan in his squad. Kishan showcased his flexibility and ability by playing a terrific knock against Pakistan in the Asia Cup while KL Rahul is yet to make his comeback in the squad.
In the bowling department, Gautam Gambhir picked the bowlers that are expected to make into India’s squad: Bumrah, Shami, Siraj, Kuldeep, Axar, and Jadeja and Hardik are the two all-rounders, while Gambhir also added Sundar to the mix.
