World Cup 2023: Sourav Ganguly picks his ODI squad. Check full list here

KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were among the 15 players who had recently returned from injury but had yet to prove their match fitness. 

Ganguly picked Kishan and Rahul as wicketkeeping possibilities, while Hardik Pandya was named vice-captain. Ravindra Jadeja and Akshar Patel were the spin all-rounder possibilities, with Kuldeep Yadav serving as the squad’s sole pure spinner.

He has not picked Tilak Varma and Yuzvendra Chahal into the side, however, he said that if any of the players turned unfit then they would be his first choice. 

“If one of the middle-order batters gets unfit, then Tilak Varma [would come in],” Ganguly told Star Sports as reported by ANI. “If one of the fast bowlers gets unfit; then Prasidh Krishna; if one of the spinners gets unfit, then Yuzvendra Chahal.”

“I’ll always pick Chahal. I’ll always pick wrist spinners, I don’t know what the selectors think but I’d always pick wrist spinners,” he added. 

“You need youth, a good team is a mixture of youth and experience. So you need the flamboyance of youth, the fearlessness of youth along with the season campaigners like Rohit, Virat, Rahul, Jadeja and Pandya. You need somebody to just go fearless,” Ganguly concluded. 

“It’s a very strong team. Bumrah is back, which makes the team even stronger. The bowling attack is very good – Shami, Bumrah, Siraj. You can’t get a better fast bowling attack. And the spin, Jadeja, the wrist spinner,” Ganguly had earlier told Star Sports.

The World Cup commences on Thursday, 5 October when 2019 finalists England and New Zealand clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the event culminating in the final at the same venue on Sunday, 19 November.

The clash between India and Pakistan was originally slated to take place in Ahmedabad on Sunday, 15 October, but this has been moved a day earlier and will now be held at the same venue on Saturday, 14 October. 

Sourav Ganguly’s Indian squad for World Cup: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya (VC), Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur.

(With inputs from ANI)

Updated: 26 Aug 2023, 07:06 AM IST