I don’t see any drastic changes in the World Cup squad, says Rohit Sharma
The vice-captain of the Indian team, Rohit Sharma, in a press conference in Sydney, said that the Indian squad for the World Cup is more or less decided.
"There will be one or two changes keeping in mind form and injury concerns over the next few months. But I don’t see any drastic change in the squad. But I still feel everything will depend on the form of each player. Each and every player that will be taking part in the World Cup, all of us are aware of that, we need to keep performing and make sure that come the World Cup, we're ready for it. Nobody is guaranteed to [be on] that flight to England as yet. We've to be in prime form," he said.
The Indian team will be playing a three-match ODI series against the Aussies in Australia. Following which the Indian team will be flying to New Zealand to play a five-match ODI series followed by a three-match T20I series against the Kiwis. After the tour of New Zealand, the Indian team will be playing Australia at home in a five-match ODI series followed by a T20 series of two games.
He heaped praise on the individual performances of Amabati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik in recent times. He once again reiterated that Dhoni would continue to play an integral role for the team and would definitely be the key factor going forward. He further said that the all-around abilities of Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja would continue to play a major role for the team.
He also pointed out that even with the absence of the Aussie trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, it wouldn't be easy for the Indian team to win the ODI series. The Indian team will be playing their first ODI in the three-match series against the Aussies in Sydney on the 12th of January. The Virat Kohli-led side will be looking to make amends for their poor show in 2016 where India was beaten 4-1 by the Aussies.