The legendary Australian opener made some interesting calls with no specialist spinners in his version of the Indian squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup. (Image: IANS)
Two-time World Cup winner for Australia, Matthew Hayden has shared his picks on what the Indian squad should comprise of with some interesting selections and exclusions.
With the World Cup coming up very soon, fans and experts alike have been pitching their thoughts on what the Indian squad should be like. During the announcement of the Asia Cup 2023 squad for Team India, chief selector, Ajit Agarkar mentioned in a press conference that the World Cup squad would be more or less similar to that of the Asia Cup squads.
In a segment with Star Sports, Two-time World Cup winner and all-format opening batter for Australia, Matthew Hayden gave his picks on who should be selected for the Indian squad for the World Cup 2023 hosted by India.
An interesting point keep note of is that Hayden has not picked the youngster, Tilak Varma who has made a mark in the T20 squad since his debut during the five-match T20I series against the West Indies. Hayden dropped the youngster in place of Sanju Samson who is currently the reserve member in the Asia Cup squad.
Amongst batters, he has also gone ahead and picked Suryakumar Yadav in the squad. The dynamic batter has done extremely well in the IPL and T20 circuits for India but has not been able to establish the same dominance in the ODI squad. Hayden might be on the same train of thought regarding Surya that if he can bring his best into the 50-over format then it can be of benefit to the Indian side especially in the finishing department when the side needs quick runs. He also picked Ishan Kishan who can be the floater for the India top-order if any injuries do come about.
Hayden also trusted the all-rounders in the side by picking four of them, starting with Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel. This would provide the Indian team with flexibility in lengthening their batting order in games where they require more batting firepower.
READ MORE: ‘Will be in and Around These Guys Only.’: Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar Shares Plans for Team India’s World Cup Squad – News18
As far as bowlers are concerned, Hayden picked the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Interestingly the legendary batter has not picked a single specialist spinner in the squad which is odd, to say the least considering the fact that Indian pitches can be spin-friendly depending on the areas and time of day.
Matthew Hayden’s Picks for Team India’s World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(wk), Sanju Samson(wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan(wk), Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
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