Wasim Jaffer includes Shikhar Dhawan as he names his India squad for World Cup 2023

Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has named his 15-member India squad for the upcoming World Cup 2023.

Wasim Jaffer, the former India cricketer, has picked out-of-favor opener Shikhar Dhawan in his team as he named his India squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 tournament.

The World Cup 2023 will be played in India from October 5 to November 19 with the Indian team playing their first match on October 8 against Australia in Chennai. New Zealand and England will play the opening encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and the venue will also host the India v Pakistan match on October 15 and the final encounter as well.

But currently, the Indian team is in the West Indies where they are slated to play three ODIs and five T20Is after the culmination of the ongoing two-Test series. The first ODI game will be played in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Thursday, July 27. Dhawan, who hasn't played a game for India since December 2022, is not a part of the 17-member squad picked for the series.

However, when Jaffer picked his Indian squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 during a chat on JioCinema, he named the veteran opener in his XI.

He said: "My three openers will be Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Shikhar Dhawan. Even though Shikhar Dhawan is not going to be picked, I will keep him as the backup opener. Even if he doesn't play at the start, I am okay with that.

After that, Virat Kohli was at No. 3 obviously. Shreyas Iyer at No. 4, KL Rahul at No. 5, and Hardik Pandya at No. 6. Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav will be my three spinners in the XI."

Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav are part of India's squad for the West Indies series. Yuzvendra Chahal is the fourth spin-bowling option in the squad.

Wasim Jaffer names the fast bowlers in his India XI for the World Cup

After this, Jaffer came to the fast-bowling contingent for the Indian team and said that even if Hardik Pandya doesn't bowl his full quota, he is content with it, while naming Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as his two specialist seamers in the XI. He also chose Shardul Thakur and Sanju Samson as his backup players.

"In my XI, I will have Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj/Mohammad Shami. I will play two seamers - Bumrah and Siraj. For me, it is very important that Hardik Pandya bowls because the World Cup is in India. Even if he doesn't bowl 10 overs and bowls seven-eight overs, it's enough for me.

"If he bowls, I will definitely try to play three spinners and I will definitely play both Axar and Jadeja because they are all-rounders. My third spinner will obviously be Kuldeep. My fourth seamer will be Shardul Thakur. Sanju Samson will be my backup keeper because I have already picked Shikhar as my third opener," Jaffer added.

Wasim Jaffer's preferred Indian World Cup squad:

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Shami, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur