India will play only five ODIs more before the BCCI finalise their 15-member squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Head coach Ravi Shastri had clearly clarified after India’s victorious New Zealand campaign that more or less the team is set with one or two slots to be checked before the announcement is made.
While there is a possibility for one or two more new faces to be seen in the forthcoming Australia series at home, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif feels that though 20 players were in the reckoning, 13 have picked themselves for the World Cup.
In his India squad, Kaif has included the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik and Kedhar Jadhav, all of whom have been fighting hard for a place.
“For the World Cup, barring an injury 13 players pick themselves- Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Jadhav, Hardik, Bhuvi, Bumrah, Shami, Kuldeep, Chahal. And 2 of Rahul, Pant, Jadeja, Khaleel, Umesh, Shubman & I would say Vijay Shankar are in contention for the remaining slots,” Kaif wrote on Twitter.
For the World Cup, barring an injury 13 players pick themselves- Rohit, Dhawan,Kohli, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Jadhav,Hardik, Bhuvi, Bumrah,Shami, Kuldeep,Chahal. And 2 of Rahul,Pant,Jadeja,Khaleel, Umesh,Shubman & I would say Vijay Shankar r in contention for the remaining slots
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) February 6, 2019
Shubman Gill failed to make an impact in the couple of chances against New Zealand. While Rishabh Pant was stupendous in the Test series Down Under, he is yet to make his mark in the limited overs formats. KL Rahul, on the other hand, looks unlikely to make it to the final 15 with his poor patch continuing even for India ‘A’.
