India's World Cup 2019 Squad announced: Virat Kohli captain, Rohit Sharma vice captain; BCCI picks Dinesh Karthik instead of Rishabh Pant
Mirror Online | Updated: Apr 15, 2019, 22:03 IST
Virat Kohli at the selection committee meeting that took place at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Monday afternoon. Photo Courtesy : Twitter / BCCI
Dinesh Karthik picked as second wicketkeeper over Rishabh Pant.
Tamil Nadu's all-rounder Vijay Shankar made it at number four slot, instead of Ambati Rayudu.
Umesh Yadav misses out.
The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has picked Dinesh Karthik ahead of Rishabh Pant in the World Cup 2019 squad. Virat Kohli will lead the men in blue, Rohit Sharma is the vice captain. Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Shami have made it to the final 15 along with Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Shankar.
"The second wicketkeeper comes into play only if Mahi (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) is injured. We went ahead with Karthik because of his experience in big matches," MSK Prasad, chairman of the Indian cricket selection committee, said while announcing the squad at BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. "If it is a crucial match, wicket-keeping also matters, so that is the only reason why we went ahead with Dinesh Kartik otherwise Rishabh Pant was almost there."
"Pant has lot of talent, lot of time. It is just unfortunate that he has been missed out. We have seen Dinesh Karthik finishing matches under pressure, " MSK Prasad said.
Ambati Rayudu's World Cup dreams have come to an end as his name has not been included. "After the Champions Trophy, we tried a lot of middle order batsmen, which includes Karthik as well. We gave Rayudu many chances, but Shankar gives us ability with the three dimensions (bowling, batting, fielding). If the conditions are suitable, he can come in as an all-rounder. Shankar is a batsman who can bowl, we are looking to play him at number four," MSK Prasad said.
KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya seem to have left their controversies far behind with the inclusion of their names in the World Cup squad.
Here's the India squad for CWC 2019
Virat Kohli is going to lead the Indian cricket team for the 2019 edition of the World Cup . The 30 year-old cricketer has played 227 matches and his highest score till date is 183 runs.
Rohit Sharma has been announced as the vice captain for the series. The cricketer has even played in the 2015 World Cup.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan has also been selected, he has played 128 matches internationally.
KL Rahul
26 year-old cricketer, KL Rahul got selected despite being embroiled in controversy over the past few months.
Vijay Shankar
This is the first time Vijay Shankar is going to play in the World Cup.
MS Dhoni, the wicket keeper who was a captain in 2015 World Cup will now play under his contemporary Virat Kohli.
Kedhar Jadhav
34 year-old all rounder Kedhar Jadhav is all set to do his debut in the World Cup.
Dinesh Kartik
BCCI chose Dinesh Kartik over Rishabh Pant after a lot of speculation.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who took 72 wickets in his international tournament, is all set for World Cup 2019.
Kuldeep Yadav, the 24 year-old spinner, is one of the youngest players in the team.
Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also one of the bowlers selected by BCCI.
One more fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is also going to make his debut in World Cup format.
All rounder Hardik Pandya has also been selected for the World Cup in spite of a lot of controversy.
Ravindra Jadeja, the 30 year-old all rounder, who has already played in the 2015 World Cup, is also playing the 2019 edition of the World Cup.
Mohd Shami, a surprise for many, has also been selected because of his outstanding performance in recent matches.
The national selection committee including Prasad, Devang Gandhi, Sharandeep Singh, Jatin Paranjpe and Gagan Khoda have picked up bowling aces Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal who are expected to bowl effectively and pick up wickets.
"In the last one year, Kuldeep and Chahal have won us many games. But there might be a situation when you require an additional all-rounder in the playing XI, which Jadeja brings in, and in the second part of the tournament, wickets may be a bit drier so that's where we think Jadeja will come in handy," MSK Prasad said.
India will be pinning its hopes on these cricketers: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami.
The World Cup begins in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14. India takes on New Zealand on May 25 in London and Bangladesh on May 28 in Cardiff in the warm-up matches before the World Cup. India will open their World Cup campaign in the 50-over tournament against South Africa on June 5 in Southampton.
Reactions have been flooding social media after the squad was announced with many raising questions on picking up Karthik over rising 21-year-old star Rishabh Pant. Have a look at some of the tweets below:
It's impossible to keep everyone happy with team selections but Karthik inclusion surprising. Selectors guilty of s… https://t.co/IWRvWyB51h
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) 1555326830000
Very surprised to see that @RishabPant777 not included in the world cup squad! He can change a game within a matter… https://t.co/KlSPyTrZHt
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) 1555325166000
While Pant will be a bit confused given that he is the test keeper but has been left out on wicketkeeping skills, t… https://t.co/8w78lTFaoI
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) 1555323676000
6 mnths back, Mohammad Shami was nowhere near being considered for white ball cricket, but some outstanding perform… https://t.co/23JbgmoknO
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) 1555323151000
Best Wishes to Team India. #CWC19 https://t.co/W42CMoDwKu
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) 1555322580000
Wow! Congrats @DineshKarthik on the most deserving World Cup squad inclusion. I am sure you will make us all proud. 💥💥🔥🔥#CWC19
— Santhosh Narayanan (@Music_Santhosh) 1555323312000
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