Gautam Gambhir picks his India squad for World Cup 2019

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir named his predicted India squad for the forthcoming ICC World Cup 2019. The left-hander had most of the names in his squad on the expected lines. But, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and aggressive middle-order batsman Rishabh Pant do not find a place in Gambhir’s squad.

Post the Champions Trophy 2017, Jadeja has had his opportunities limited. He only made a comeback in the Asia Cup last year after Hardik Pandya suffered an injury and was ruled out. Since then, he has looked decent enough bowling economically and picking wickets at regular intervals. However, Jadeja doesn’t really seem to fit in the plans for Gambhir.

Gambhir picks Ashwin ahead of Jadeja

The Delhi cricketer has been quite vocal in the last few days about having Ravichandran Ashwin in the Indian team ahead of Jadeja. He’s done the same when he predicted his squad for the tournament. He feels that the dry pitches in England in July will assist the off-spinner better.

“Both wrist-spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) have done well in the last one year. But I still feel that R Ashwin is somebody we should look at. Obviously, a quality off-spinner is a quality off-spinner. I’ve always believed that a quality spinner is a quality spinner – irrespective of whether he is a wrist-spinner or a finger-spinner,” said Gambhir as quoted by Times Now News.

“I think R Ashwin is someone who we should always consider because we are looking at conditions in England during that time of the year. Wickets could be flat and worn out. So a finger-spinner can be effective with the ball as well,” he further added.

Moreover, since India already has two wicketkeepers in the form of MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik, Gambhir decided to omit Pant. Also, young pacers Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed who recently featured in the Indian teams do not find a spot in his side.

Gautam Gambhir’s Indian squad for World Cup 2019:

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav.

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