World Cup 2023: Team India Strongest vs Second Best Playing 11

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan to lead as we look at the strongest vs alternate best playing 11 for Team India for ODI World Cup 2023.

The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is just a month away, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced Team India’s squad. Given the ICC guidelines, Team India are allowed to select only 15 players with 2-3 players as standbys or travelling reserves to account for any injuries.

With a squad limit of only 15 players, it is natural that a lot of quality players would have to miss the bus for the ODI World Cup 2023. While Team India would be led by Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as his deputy, Team India would be without a few quality players like Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, etc.

Given the abundance of talent Team India have, how about we look at the head-to-head comparison of the current strongest vs Alternate best playing 11 for Team India for ODI World Cup 2023? Meanwhile, per the leading website, Betway Satta, the loss of the alternate best 11 players has reduced India’s odds from 1.18 to 1.31.  

ODI World Cup 2023 – Strongest vs Alternate Best 11 for Team India:

Openers: Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill vs Shikhar Dhawan & Rishabh Pant (wk)

If we talk about the strongest openers for Team India, look no other than Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Rohit and Gill have been exceptional as openers for Team India as openers in the last 2-3 years. While Rohit has been a Team India opener since almost 2013, Gill made his debut in 2019 with a fantastic career so far.  

For Alternate Best 11, there is no dearth of quality either. India would be without the services of Mr. ICC, Shikhar Dhawan, who has been one of the most prolific players for Team India in ICC Tournaments. Partnering him would be Rishabh Pant, who would be missing the tournament due to the unfortunate accident he had a few months ago.   

Middle-order: V. Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk) & KL Rahul vs S. Samson, S. Iyer & SK. Yadav

Coming to middle-order, India’s strongest 11 will see Virat Kohli at 3, Ishan Kishan at 4, and KL Rahul at number 5. Until a few months ago, Shreyas Iyer would have taken the number 4 spot in place of Ishan Kishan, but given Kishan’s rise in ODIs, and a need for a lefty, Kishan in middle-order makes him the best candidate for strongest 11.

For the alternate best 11, the quality is still up to the mark with Sanju Samson at 3, Shreyas Iyer at 4, and Suryakumar Yadav at number 5 position. Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav are still a part of the final 15. But Sanju Samson missed out from the squad with preference being given to Kishan and KL Rahul.   

Finishers: Hardik Pandya & Ravindra Jadeja vs Axar Patel & Washington Sundar

For the all-rounders spot, there is an interesting comparison. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja make up the strongest set of all-rounders for Team India. Whereas for alternate best 11, we have Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. This is an area where India’s alternate best 11 doesn’t match the quality of the strongest 11. 

Bowlers: S. Thakur, K. Yadav, J. Bumrah, & M. Siraj vs Arshdeep Singh, Y. Chahal, M. Shami & P. Krishna

Talking about the strongest first-choice pacers for Team India, there’s Jasprit Bumrah as the leader of the Pace attack. Supporting him are Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and Hardik Pandya. Shami for Shardul would have been a good swap, but given that Shardul provides batting depth, he takes that position. Between the two teams, Hardik Pandya remains the only pace all-rounder for Team India.

For alternate best 11, the Pace quality has good variety with Mohammed Shami being the leader of the pace attack. Supporting him are Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh. For Alternate Best 11, there are only three pace options given the lack of a pace all-rounder. However, Arshdeep Singh remains the only left-arm pacer among both 11s for Team India.

For the spin combination, India’s Strongest 11 has Kuldeep Yadav as the primary spinner with support from Ravindra Jadeja. Whereas, the Alternate best 11 is spin dominant with Yuzvendra Chahal as the primary spinner with good support from Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. Between the two 11s, the Alternate Best 11 seem to have a better spin attack.

ICC ODI World Cup 2023 – Strongest Playing 11 for Team India:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj & Jasprit Bumrah

ICC ODI World Cup 2023 – Alternate Best Playing 11 for Team India:

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Washinton Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna & Yuzvendra Chahal.

So, that’s about a detailed comparison of Team India’s strongest vs alternate best 11 for ODI World Cup 2023. Overall, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami are two names that India would love to be a part of the strongest 11. While Pant could replace Ishan Kishan, Shami could come in for Shardul Thakur. 

Other than these two 11, India can also have a third 11 with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers, Rahul Tripathi at 3, Tilak Varma at number 4, Rinku Singh at 5, Shivam Dube at 6, Ravichandran Ashwin at 7, Shivam Mavi at 8, Ravi Bishnoi at 9, Umran Malik at 10, and Mukesh Kumar at 11.  

Thank you so much for reading! What’s your take on Team India Strongest vs Alternate best playing 11 for ODI World Cup 2023? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com.

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