As the world cup is around the corner, Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has named the players he wants to see for the showpiece event in England and Wales.
Starting with the opening combination, although Shikhar Dhawan’s form hasn’t been the best, Dada remained confident of his partnership with Rohit Sharma at the top.
“The Indian pace attack is fantastic. Whether its Bumrah or Shami, the Indian pacers are performing consistently. The pacers will play an important factor for the team in England,” said Ganguly. “The opening combination should not be tweaked. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are the ideal pair to give India a fast start. But K L Rahul is also there.”
Ganguly maintained that Rohit and Dhawan should continue to open for India, with Rahul being the third-choice opener who can replace either of the two as and when required. He further backed Virat Kohli to continue at No. 3 spot while Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav can come in at the following positions, respectively.
“Shikhar and Rohit should open. Other than the two, Rahul is another batsman who can open. Virat is being Virat. He is on top of his game,” he said. “Virat should bat in his usual number 3 slot. Rayudu at 4, Dhoni at 5 and Kedar at number 6.”
The only area of concern in Ganguly’s picks is the wicket-keeping department where there’s no back-up for MS Dhoni. While KL Rahul can play as wicket-keeper too, the probability of the Indian team management going without a second specialist wicket-keeper is less. It would be a big call if both Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant are snubbed for the mega event.
Sourav Ganguly’s squad for the ICC World Cup 2019: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, K L Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav,” he concluded.
