5 different Playing XI combinations India can field in the World Cup
The selection of India's squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 has been the biggest talking point for the last couple of months. There was a tough competition for a couple of spots in the final 15 and the players who eventually missed out might consider themselves extremely unlucky.
Nonetheless, the selection part is done and dusted and now it's time to see how the team management can make full use of the players they have in the squad.
Here is India's World Cup squad:
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
The selectors have named a strong squad giving plenty of options to the captain and the team management. We will look at the different team combinations the Indian team can field in the World Cup.
#1 Playing with a combination of 2 spinners, 2 pacers, and 3 all-rounders
This will perhaps be India's playing XI for its opening match. Chief of Selection committee, MSK Prasad, has made it very clear that Vijay Shankar will be the team's preferred choice for the number four position. Shankar has been in good form with the bat since his debut in ODIs.
However, the team will want him to contribute with the ball too. England's pitches are likely to be flat and thus, the spin twins, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, will have the difficult task of strangling the opposition batsmen in the middle overs.
The team management will have to make a choice between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohd Shami. Even though Shami has been in terrific form, the team might go with Bhuvi in the initial part of the tournament.
Combination 1: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.