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Suryakumar Yadav in action© AFP
Former Australia cricketer and Indian Premier League (IPL) winning coach Tom Moody gave his picks for India’s 15-member squad for ICC World Cup 2023 and it came with a few surprises. While most of the usual names found a place in his team, there were a couple of major exclusions – Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson. Instead, he went with four spinners in Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and the out-of-favour Yuzvendra Chahal who was not a part of India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad.
Moody included Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer as specialist batters with KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan being the wicket-keeping options. With Rahul in the side, he can play both as a wicket-keeper batter or a specialist batter depending on what the demands of the situation.
When it comes to the all-rounders, Hardik Pandya found a place in the squad as the vice-captain with the spin duo of Jadeja and Axar who have proven their mettle with the bat. Moody also went with Kuldeep and Chahal – a move that the Indian selectors decided against for the upcoming Asia Cup tournament.
In the pace department, there were no surprises with Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami all finding places in the squad chosen by the former Sunrisers Hyderabad coach.
Tom Moody’s India squad for ICC World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (VC), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
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