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Rishabh Pant fails to make the cut. Do you think the youngster deserved the chance? Have your say here :
The squad is out! Here is India's final 15 for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019:
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC) Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wicket keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Y. Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami.
3:15 pm: We're minutes away from the announcement of India's squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and look who's in the house! It's the big man himself, skipper Virat Kohli.
3:00 pm: We've got another poll for you, who do you think will be India's No.4 in England?
VOTE VOTE VOTE:
2:50 pm: That's as close as it can get half an hour prior to the squad announcement!
Time to put the thinking caps on
◘ All-rounder Vijay Shankar makes the cut while out-of-favour batsman Ajinkya Rahane too finds a mention as former selectors choose their respective World Cup squads. Five former national selectors pick their squads| Team India for World Cup 2019
When the five-member national selection committee meets at the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai on Monday to pick the 15-member squad for the Cricket World Cup 2019, the debate will likely be about the right choices for the second wicketkeeper and the No. 4 spot.
Virat Kohli, India captain, had made it clear last month that the core of the team for the World Cup had been more or less finalised in the last one year. He had admitted that only “one slot” was left to be filled. It led to talk on whether 21-year-old Rishabh Pant will be chosen as the second wicketkeeper ahead of the seasoned Dinesh Karthik.
This is likely to be the highlight of the meeting.
Pant or Karthik?
Pant has proved his worth for the national team over the last few months. Even though his wicketkeeping skills are not perfect, he has the ability to bat at any spot — between Nos. 1 and 7. His finishing skills have won him accolades from many former cricketers.
That certainly puts him ahead of Karthik in the pecking order. Karthik was left out of the squad for the ODI series against Australia last month, and he has been able to gather only 111 runs so far (after the innings against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday) for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pant, on the other hand, has 222 runs under his belt in the IPL.
ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 — Full schedule, timings
However, both Kohli and M. S. K. Prasad, the chairman of selectors, had indicated IPL form will have no impact in the selection of the squad for the World Cup. But with K. L. Rahul in fine form in the tourney — 335 runs for Kings XI Punjab — and doubling up as a wicketkeeper, the selectors may be tempted to look at him as a back-up wicketkeeping option. He is, of course, already in contention for the spot of the third opener.
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