ICC World Cup 2019: Sourav Ganguly picks his India squad for the tournament

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has picked a 15-member India squad for the upcoming World Cup starting May 30 and he feels it is the fast bowling attack that will be a deciding factor for the Men in Blue at the mega event in England and Wales. Ganguly himself had led India to the final of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa but his team was thrashed by Ricky Ponting’s Australia.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni though completed the unfulfilled task eight years later by leading India to their second WC title after 1983. Ganguly picked KL Rahul as the third opener in the squad besides the two regular ones in Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. The Prince of Kolkata also picked Umesh Yadav as the fourth pacer.

He backed Dhawan to deliver in the showpiece event even though he is undergoing a lean phase at the moment, having scored his last international fifty in January. “The Indian pace attack is fantastic. Whether it’s Bumrah or Shami, the Indian pacers are performing consistently. The pacers will play an important factor for the team in England,” the former captain was quoted as saying by IndiaTV.

“The opening combination should not be tweaked. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are the ideal pair to give India a fast start. But K L Rahul is also there.” Talking of the middle order, Ganguly said captain Virat Kohli should come in at his position of No.3 followed by Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav. “Virat is being Virat. He is on top of his game,” he said.

Ganguly for Vijay Shankar over Ravindra Jadeja

On the all-rounders, Ganguly said instead of picking spinner Ravindra Jadeja, India should go for Vijay Shankar who impressed both with the bat and ball in the Nagpur ODI against Australia on Tuesday. “Ravindra Jadeja should not be in the World Cup team. Vijay Shankar bowled beautifully in the Nagpur match. I think Vijay deserves his World Cup spot,” he said.

Sourav Ganguly’s India World Cup squad is as follows

Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav.

[interaction id=”5c7f732bf115e0cbcbe0fc03″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.