Former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar revealed his preferred 15-player squad for the upcoming Men’s ODI World Cup, to be held in the country from October 5 to November 19.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In his squad, Bangar sprung a huge surprise by naming left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh in his team ahead of fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Arshdeep has only played three ODIs so far, but is yet to take a wicket. Moreover, he is not named in the Asia Cup squad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bangar was the batting coach of the Indian team when they reached the semi-finals of 2019 Men’s ODI World Cup in England, before losing to New Zealand in the knockout game at Manchester.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"For the World Cup, the way I have chosen my squad is focused on combinations. The combination will be as follows: five specialist batsmen, two wicketkeeper-batsmen, two spin-bowling all-rounders, one pace-bowling all-rounder, one specialist spinner, and four fast bowlers,” said Bangar to Star Sports.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The five specialist batsmen will be Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Suryakumar Yadav. The two wicketkeeper-batsmen would be Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Just like the Asia Cup squad, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal doesn’t find a place in Bangar’s 15 for the ODI World Cup. "The two spin-bowling all-rounders, both I have chosen from the left-arm category, would be Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The pace-bowling all-rounder would be Hardik Pandya. One specialist spinner – Kuldeep Yadav. And the four fast bowlers would be Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Shami, and Arshdeep Singh."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India’s next international assignment will be participating in the 2023 Asia Cup, by opening their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2, before playing Nepal on September 4. Both of India’s Group A matches will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Top two sides from Groups A and B will progress to the Super Fours, where they will play three more games at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, which will also host the final on September 17. On returning home, India will play three ODIs at home against Australia from September 22-27.<\/p>\r\n\r\n