ICC World Cup 2019: VVS Laxman names his India Playing XI for South Africa match

India is currently the number-two ranked ODI team playing the ICC World Cup in England and Wales. The team, captained by Virat Kohli, is being deemed as one of the contenders to win the championship this time. In 2019, India has lost quite a few bilateral series, yet many experts and pundits reckon that India can go on and absolutely detonate opponents brutally in the tournament.

However, the Men in Blue got a fact check ahead of the start of the main draw as Kane Williamson’s New Zealand defeated them by six wickets in the first warm-up fixture at the Kennington Oval in London. Nevertheless, Kohli’s men made a strong comeback against Mashrafe Mortaza’s Bangladesh at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, winning the match by 95 runs. Team India will begin its campaign against South Africa on June 5.

VVS Laxman picks three spinners in the India XI

The match will be played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton and VVS Laxman, the former Indian cricketer, while commentating in the 2nd warm-up match selected India’s playing eleven for that encounter. It didn’t spring a surprise that he went for Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli as the top three batsmen. The trio has scored a truckload of runs and has contributed to India’s limited-overs victories over the last few years.

Laxman picked KL Rahul, who got a century against Bangladesh and left out Vijay Shankar, who didn’t deliver in the same match for the no.4 slot. He slotted MS Dhoni at number five with the swashbuckling Hardik Pandya coming after MSD. Laxman opted for Ravindra Jadeja, who did well in the warm-ups as the third spinner and all-rounder in the team.

He kept Bhuvneshwar Kumar out and picked Mohammed Shami along with Jasprit Bumrah as the two frontline pacers. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are the specialist spin-bowling options. Both couldn’t make inroads versus the Black Caps but turned out with decent shows in the erstwhile game. The duo is expected to be key to India’s chances in the mega event.

Here is Laxman’s Playing XI:

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal