ODI World Cup 2023: Best 20 Players Core Squad for Team India

Rohit Sharma to lead as we look at the best predicted 20 players core for Team India for ODI World Cup 2023.

The BCCI recently concluded their review meeting, and post that the buzz around the corner has predominantly been focused on the ODI World Cup 2023. The Management and BCCI concluded that Team India will form a core for ODIs, and will rotate them; thus making them better equipt for the Marquee event. 

This is a step in the right direction for Team India, which has often tried many combinations in various Bilateral series; thus confusing themselves to find the right combination for the Marquee event. Just to revisit, India used as many as 35 players in 2021 and 31 players in 2022 for T20Is with T20 World Cup being the focus. 

But 2023 will see Team India using a different strategy. It is understood that Team India will use only 20 players that would form a part of Team India’s core ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup. This is the group that would be playing on a rotational basis before the final 15-member squad is selected for the ODI World Cup 2023. 

So, who are these players that would form the core for the World Cup 2023? Well, BCCI hasn’t named these players officially, but if we have to analyze the current players who are in contention, we can confirm the list. So, in this article, we take a look at the best predicted 20 core players for Team India for the ODI World Cup 2023. 

Team India’s Predicted 20 Players Core for ODI World Cup 2023

Openers: Ishan Kishan [wk], Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill 

Team India in the current ODI series vs Sri Lanka have picked Captain Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shubman Gill as the first-choice openers. Having dropped Shikhar Dhawan, it seems India have decided to move on from Team India’s most successful player in ICC ODI tournaments.

Apart from these three, India can also bring in KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant to open in ODIs; thus removing the need to play an extra opener. Most-likely, Team India will persist with these three, and will not add any new openers to the squad; unless of course for a major injury. 

Middle-order: KL Rahul [wk], Rishabh Pant [wk], Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav & Virat Kohli   

Coming to the middle-order, India currently have 5 good options in the form of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, and Virat Kohli. It’s a potent middle-order, but only three of these five will feature in the final playing 11 in ODIs.

In the current ODI series vs Sri Lanka, only Rishabh Pant has not been selected. Of course, that’s not because of bad form, but because he had knee issues before he had a major accident. So, in all likelihood, India will alter these 5 players to see how their final middle-order looks like.      

All-rounders: Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja & Washington Sundar

The all-rounders for Team India look well settled at the moment with Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar in the ranks. This is a well-balanced all-rounder set with Hardik being the pace all-rounder, and Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar being the spin-bowling all-rounders.

On top of these three, India have Axar Patel as Ravindra Jadeja’s back-up. Apart from Jadeja, who is recovering from injury, the other three are also a part of the current ODI squad vs Sri Lanka. So, we should most-likely see these four rotating in the future ODI series before India select the final squad.    

Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav & Yuzvendra Chahal

India have selected Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as the two first-choice spinners in the ODI series vs Sri Lanka. Ideally, another spinner would be a great add, but with Washington Sundar already there, Team India may persist with these two as a part of their core.

Pacers: Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna & Umran Malik

Finally, talking about the pacers, this is the area that’s most tricky to select. If we talk about the primary pacers for Team India, those are Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj. These three can bowl in the Powerplay, Middle-overs as well as Death overs; thus making them a deadly combo for ODIs 

But if we talk about their backups, we have Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik. Both are also a part of the current ODI series vs Sri Lanka, and India will persist with them for the upcoming ODI series. However, for the final pacer, India have three options in the form of Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, and Prasidh Krishna. 

Selection one among these three is tough. Deepak Chahar is more experienced and adds batting depth, but is injury prone. Shardul has played a lot of ODIs in 2021 and 2022 and adds batting depth too. But, of the three, Prasidh Krisha seems the most preferred pacer.

The tall pacer is currently out because of injury, but has been quite good for Team India in ODIs. In the 14 ODIs that Prasidh has played, he has taken 25 wickets at a good average of 23.9 and a decent economy rate of 5.3. It looks like once Prasidh recovers, he should be back in the squad as one of the pacers for Team India. 

ODI World Cup 2023: Best Predicted 20 Players Core for Team India

Batters: Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav & Virat Kohli   

Wks: Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul & Rishabh Pant

All-rounders: Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja & Washington Sundar

Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Umran Malik & Yuzvendra Chahal

Coach: Rahul Dravid // Captain: Rohit Sharma // Vice Captain: Hardik Pandya

So, that’s about the predicted core squad for Team India for ODI World Cup 2023. In all likelihood, India would see these 20 players playing the upcoming ODIs. If at all, we have injuries, we should see Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Hooda, Deepak Chahar, Shahbaz Ahmed, or Kuldeep Sen being given the opportunity.  

Thanks for reading! What’s your squad for Team India for ODI World Cup 2023? Please email your comments to business@cricalytics.com

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