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Team India is almost ready to participate in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 which is scheduled to begin on May 30 in England and Wales. A couple of spots are still up for grabs and even those are expected to be filled after the ongoing ODI series against Australia. The deadline to submit the final squad for the World Cup is April 23 and the former cricketers are busy predicting their line-ups for the tournament.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has also jumped into the discussion now as he put forth his views on the 15-man squad which will board the flight to London after the Indian Premier League (IPL). Like any other analyst’s squad, Manjrekar’s squad also has quite a few surprising inclusions and exclusions. The major of them has been the axe on Ambati Rayudu, who was once expected to be India’s number 4 batsman in the mega event.
Manjrekar feels that the best player to play at no.4 in the World Cup is Vijay Shankar.
Shankar impressed everyone at the top of the order during the T20Is against New Zealand, with his clean hitting and batting prowess. Now, Manjrekar has suggested playing Shankar at that spot.
The 53-year-old Mumbaikar also feels that after the strong top three, India have a very weak middle order. He said that the Indian team is one of the best in the world going into the World Cup 2019, but he is not sure whether they will win the tournament.
Manjrekar even mentioned that India should go for Mohammad Shami as the second fast bowler in the team to partner Jasprit Bumrah over Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He feels that the current bowling attack possessed by India is much better than what MS Dhoni had in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
Sanjay Manjrekar’s India squad for the 2019 World Cup:
Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja.
