India's 2015 World Cup squad - Where are they now?

India entered the World Cup 2015 as the defending champions and played like one. The image of the 2011 World Cup was still fresh in the minds of the fans and were expecting their team to put on the same kind of show in Australia. The MS Dhoni-led side started dominating from the word go, defeating the arch-rivals Pakistan in the first match with utmost comfort. They never went off the winning ways and won all six of their league stage games. In the Quarter Final, they survived a Bangladesh scare to book the meeting with Australia in the semis. It seemed that India would defend their crown, but the eventual champions knocked them out and shattered their hopes. However, it was quite a clinical performance by the Indian squad, who left no stone unturned in order to win. The 15-member squad had very few loopholes, and it was probably the best squad that could have defended the title. Four years down the lane, a lot of things have changed and only few members are part of the World Cup 2019. Let us take a look at the members of the 2015 World Cup squad and where are they now: Rohit Sharma Rohit Sharma. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) 2015 was Rohit’s first World Cup. He enjoyed a great form in the tournament and scored 330 runs in 8 matches. This included half centuries against UAE and Ireland and a match-winning ton against Bangladesh after the Men in Blue had lost Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, and Ajinkya Rahane early. Since that tournament, he has reached even greater feats. He is one of the firm pillars of the Indian batting and has stood out as a warrior whenever the team has needed him to step up. With Shikhar and Virat, he has built a formidable and solid top 3, which will frighten even the strongest bowling units in the world. A lot will depend on how he fares in the upcoming edition of the mega event. He is now the vice-captain of the team and will be involved in the some of the crucial decisions during the crunch moments in the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan Shikhar Dhawan. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Shikhar Dhawan and ICC events – this is a fairy-tale story which is totally inscrutable. No matter how he plays in the past, his form in the multi-nation tournaments always gives nightmares to oppositions. Dhawan has scored 1155 runs in the ICC events. He was the highest run-getter for India in 2015 WC as well, with 412 runs. He had smashed 2 centuries and a solitary fifty in 8 matches down under. Over the past few years, Dhawan has formed a dependable opening pair with Rohit. The southpaw has emerged as one of the best batsmen in the limited overs cricket. He would play an instrumental role in India’s World Cup campaign in England. He has failed to convert starts into big knock, and India will hope that this doesn’t happen anymore. Virat Kohli Virat Kohli. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Virat Kohli was World’s no.3 batsman then, he is the best batsman now. Virat’s stats might not be convincing, but his contribution and impact were just amazing. His century against Pakistan can be hailed as one of the best knocks in that tourney, probably due to the immense pressure of playing the arch-rivals, and that too in an event like the World Cup. Besides, he had three 40+ knocks to his name. Virat has been breaking the records like anything. He is now the captain of the Indian team in all three formats and would be leading the team in the upcoming mega event as well. He recently bagged the ICC Test Cricketer, ICC ODI Cricketer and ICC Cricketer of the Year awards, and would be desperate to carry this form in the World Cup as well. MS Dhoni MS Dhoni. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images) MS Dhoni was the captain of the Indian team that reached the semi-finals four years ago. Under his leadership, the Men in Blue did not lose even a single match in the league stages. He himself was pretty nice in his finishing role. Mahi scored 237 runs at an average of 59.25. This year, he would be playing his 4th and probably the last World Cup. He has had an inspirational journey, wherein he scored over 10000 ODI runs and turned out to be one of the best captains in the history of cricket. No wonder, his big hits at the highest level have disappeared now, but the hands behind the wickets are still the fastest and the man can never be kept out of the game. Ajinkya Rahane Ajinkya Rahane. (Photo Source: Twitter) Ajinkya Rahane was India’s no.4 in that tourney, something which has been a topic of debate this time around. He had amassed 208 runs in 7 matches, at an unconvincing average of 34.67. His 79-run knock off just 60 balls against South Africa was one of the best though. The sight of Rahane walking down the pitch to Dale Steyn was wonderful to watch. Rahane continues to be an integral part of the Test team even now and is the vice-captain of the side. However, he has fallen out of grid in the limited overs cricket. Lack of opportunities has also played a part in this. He got only 10 innings at the no.4 spot since 2015, where Rahane scored 420 runs at an average of 46.66. Therefore, ignoring him seems very harsh. Suresh Raina Suresh Raina. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) Raina had a brilliant campaign at the World Cup. He scored 284 runs in 6 matches, at an average above 55 and a strike rate crossing 110. These stats are a testimony of the form that he was in. He is 74 against Pakistan was a delight to watch, and a 57-ball-65 against Bangladesh turned out to be match-winning in the quarter-final. He also played a match saving innings against Zimbabwe by slamming a century when the top order had failed. However, he soon went out of the scene. He did make a comeback last year against England, but that was merely confined to the 47 runs in 2 innings. He did not have a very good IPL either, but the southpaw still has got enough fuel in him. With some more amendments to his technique, there can still be a glimpse of hope that he can make a comeback to the team. Umesh Yadav Umesh Yadav. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Umesh Yadav was the strike pacer for India in the 2015 World Cup. He being the highest wicket-taker for the team with 18 wickets speaks volumes of his dominance and impact. He scalped two 4-fers, one of which came against Australia in the semis. However, the last two years have seen his decline. He has been irregular in the team. He had some chances of making into the 15-member squad, but the pacer couldn’t grab his chances and went down in the reckoning. His IPL campaign was another horrendous tournament for him. Although he won’t play in the mega-event, the hopes aren’t over yet for the speedster. With a return to form and some consistency, he can be back in the frame. Mohammed Shami Mohammed Shami. (Photo by Kerry Marshall/Getty Images) Shami’s journey in a single word can be termed as a roller-coaster ride. He remained just a solitary wicket behind Umesh in the tourney. His 4-fer against Pakistan was one of the best spells he’s ever bowled. However, knee injury put him out of the team soon after the World Cup. Some personal issues also affected his fitness and was not even in the frame to play the quadrennial event until the Australia tour. In the mean time though Shami became the lead pacer in the Tests. He backed the phenomenal Australia tour with back-to-back solid performances in the limited overs fixtures and the IPL. This sealed his position in the squad. From a position of no hope, he will now be a vital cog in India’s wheel in the World Cup 2019 and most probably will take the new ball from one end along with Jasprit Bumrah. Ravindra Jadeja Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja appeals successfully. (Photo Source: Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images) The left-arm spinner was not at his best during the World Cup 2015. He scalped 9 wickets and scored 57 runs in India’s campaign down under. His best performance came against Windies when he scalped 2 wickets for 27 runs. Champions Trophy in 2017 also didn’t go well for him and then with the emergence of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal saw him losing his place in the squad. However, with Hardik Pandya getting injured in the Asia Cup, Jadeja was recalled in the team and he didn’t look back since then. He scalped 7 wickets and also proved his mettle with the bat. He put on another good show against Windies, picking another 7 wickets for the team. Jaddu brings a lot to the table in the fielding department as well and will be important to Team India in England in this World Cup. Ravichandran Ashwin Ravichandran Ashwin of India. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) Ravichandran Ashwin was the go-to spinner for MS Dhoni in that tourney. He scalped 17 wickets, and that too at an economy of just 4.2. The finger spinners often don’t get much assistance in Australia, and therefore that kind of performance is admirable. He continued to be an integral member of the team before a poor outing at the Champions Trophy in 2017 came to play the spoilsport. He was dropped from the limited-overs squad, and he could never make a comeback. However, he is still an integral member of the Test team and is still the lead spinner in the whites. Bhuvneshwar Kumar Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo by Mike Owen/Getty Images) Bhuvneshwar played only a single match in 2015 World Cup and was given only 5 overs in that match against the United Arab Emirates. He didn’t get much chance with the other pacers doing well. However, since then, the pacer has consistently taken the new ball for the team and has also emerged as one of the best death bowlers. Bhuvi can swing the ball in both the directions, a much-needed quality for a pacer in the English conditions. Besides this, he has developed a knuckle ball, which made him an effective death bowler. Although he was ordinary at best during the IPL, he showed some signs of form in the latter matches, which is a good sign for the Indian team at the world event. Mohit Sharma Mohit Sharma. (Photo by Kunal Patil/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Mohit Sharma was called as a replacement for injured Ishant Sharma, but he never let the team feel the need for him. He scalped 13 wickets in the tournament and played the role of the third pacer quite nicely. However, he played only one international series after that (vs South Africa), in which he picked five wickets from 4 matches. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been given many opportunities in the IPL as well. He was bought by CSK this year but got only a single game. As a result, he has been limited to first-class cricket. The 30-year-old can still make a comeback, provided that he becomes more consistent. Ambati Rayadu Ambati Rayudu. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Rayadu was in the 15-member squad but didn’t get any game throughout the tournament. He continued to play international cricket, but was dropped in 2016. The whole 2017 saw him featuring in no international match. However, he began knocking the selection doors by scoring 622 runs in the IPL 2018, and the selectors were tempted to bring him back. To some extent, he even solved India’s number 4 conundrum, which had been haunting them for long. However, a sudden dip in form forced the selectors to start looking beyond him. A poor IPL season further added to his miseries. Eventually, he lost his spot to Vijay Shankar. More importantly, he seems to have lost his final chance to play a World Cup as well. Stuart Binny Stuart Binny. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images) World Cup 2015 was Stuart Binny’s first and probably the last ICC event. His inclusion in the squad was debated and criticized a lot. He did not get any opportunities as well. India lacked a proper fast-bowling all-rounder then which is the reason Binny made it to the squad but for the national team, apart from a few matches, he could never turn out at his best. The 34-year-old hasn’t played any international game since 2015, and it seems that it is the end of road for him. He played a good cameo in the IPL 2019, where he scored 33 off 11 balls, but that was the only highlight of his campaign. His journey has largely been restricted to first class cricket, and it is highly unlikely that he would make a comeback in the team. Axar Patel Axar Patel. (Photo Source: Twitter) Every youngster wants to be remembered as a World Cup player, and Axar Patel got to enjoy this tag at the age of just 21. However, he did not get any game in the whole tournament. He was given more opportunities afterwards, but the southpaw couldn’t do the justice to his talent. Therefore, the management was forced to drop him from the squad. He last played an international game in 2017 against New Zealand. A disastrous campaign at IPL 2018, where he could scalp only 3 wickets from 9 matches, further added to his miseries. However, he has done pretty well in IPL 2019. If he can add some more consistency, then he can still come in the long-term plans of the team. He is also in the standby list for the World Cup.

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India's 2015 World Cup squad - Where are they now?

Only six players of the 2015 squad are part of the upcoming World Cup.

Suresh Raina

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