India Squad For ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Top 6 surprise exclusions

Team India announced a 15-members squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Tuesday.

The much-awaited announcement has been made. The Indian selection committee have announced the 15-members squad for Indian team that will be taking part in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Rohit Sharma will be leading the team in the mega event held at home, while Hardik Pandya will assist him as vice- captain.

The 15-members squad was identical to the previous squad for the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. But there have been some surprise exclusions, and some players didn't get a chance to feature in the squad. India will play their first match of the World Cup against Australia on October 8 in Chennai. Here we will talk about six surprise exclusions from the Indian team.

Here are top 6 surprise exclusions from India's squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:

1. Yuzvendra Chahal:

The return of Kuldeep Yadav to form saw Yuzvendra Chahal get fewer chances in the white-ball format. That is one of the reasons that India didn't pick him for the World Cup. India picked Kuldeep along with Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja and didn't want to pick another leg-spinning option. That is why Chahal didn't feature in the Asia Cup, and now he is also not in the World Cup squad.

2. Prasidh Krishna:

After returning from injury, Praisdh Krishna did well on the Ireland tour. But he is not part of the World Cup squad. The 27-years-old was sidelined as India already had a few pace bowling options. It was expected that with the return of Jasprit Bumrah and already having Mohammed Siraj and Mohamme Shami, there would be a fight for the fourth seamer. But with some batting ability, Shardul Thakur got an edge over Krishna.

3. Tilak Varma:

Team India have been struggling in the middle-order for a long time. But the T20I debut of Tilak Varma gave hope to many. A number of former cricketers and fans thought that the left-handed batter could be an ideal player in the middle-order, which is why he was picked for Asia Cup 2023. But with the return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, it was expected that Varma might be dropped.

4. Shikhar Dhawan:

Shikhar Dhawan has been out of the team for almost a year now. Shubman Gill has been a brilliant find for India at the top of the order and has become India's first-choice opener. However, there was hope that India might consider Dhawan for the World Cup because he has a great record at ICC events. But it looks like it is end of the road for Dhawan.

5. Arshdeep Singh:

Arshdeep Singh has been brilliant for India in the shorter format, which is why he played in the 2022 T20 World Cup. But he didn't get a chance in the ODI squad and has been dropped. It was a surprise for some, as he is the only left-arm pacer in the current lot and can bowl well at the death.

6. Sanju Samson:

One of the biggest names to be dropped from the squad is Sanju Samson. The wicket-keeper batter was picked as a backup player in Asia Cup 2023. But now that Rahul is back with the team and Ishan Kishan has shown great form, India have dropped Samson from the World Cup squad. Many would argue that Suryakumar Yadav is on the team, but it is what it is.